In this next chapter, Dargo's mission is at hand, with the help of Recorder and another, it may just go well... But what will entail in this endeavor, and what will that mean for those observing them...? find out below!
Chapter 50
The Lookout
The Very Next day
Blackfeather manor
7:00 am
The next day rolled through when the sun beamed through the trees, the forest still darkened but had a peaking morning glow...Most of everyone who was at the house, except for Erik, was still asleep. But unfortunately for them all...
They would soon experience their first morning there...
Traysek's room...
The Dragonborn and Tarnished were still sleeping, when a series of knocks came echoed on their door.
"It's time to wake up." It was the head maid, "You have 5 minutes to answer."
What she got in response were weak groans and snores from the room... After a moment the maid opened the door, a dark red aura around her as she walked to the bed.
"I said it's time to wake up..." she repeated with a dreaded tone.
"Mmh... five more minutes Mother..." Traysek muttered, going back into a snore...
It was like something snapped as the maid's eye twitched before turning into one of a goat.
"I'm up..." Sylla sat up before freezing.
Before anything could be done, the maid held Traysek in a twisted, painful position and tightened her hold, "I said it's time to wake up!" raising her voice at the last moment.
His eyes snapped open, "Hu-OW OW OW OW OW! I'M UP! I'M UP!" He cried out, finding himself in the most painful position possible, "WHAT IS THIS UNHOLY LOCK?!"
"Next time I say that it's time to wake up, it means that it's time to wake up!" the maid yelled before letting go.
"Damn... She'd give Lord Godfrey a run for his money..." Sylla mumbled as the maid exited the room, "You good?" she asked Traysek.
He was on the bed facefirst with steam coming out of him, groaning, "Peachy..." sitting himself up, "By the nine, what time is it?" rubbing his ribs.
Sylla looked outside before replying, "It's early in the morning." motioning to the sun that just came up.
He blinked twice, "Are you serious...? we're usually waking up later than this..." yawning after, getting out of bed, stretching.
Sylla heard another yell in pain before saying, "That... that's a fact... anyways, she did tell us that the breakfast is served early."
"Aye, she did, I remember," Traysek nodded, going for his wardrobe closet, "And judging from Lucien's scream, I think She's in a bad mood, we don't need to be still in here when she makes her rounds," with a small sweatdrop.
"Yeah... I get that..." Sylla got out of bed as her nightdress turned into her armor, "I'll go first cleaning myself if it's good with you..."
"Go ahead, I'll probably take one of the showers there anyway," The Redguard waved off, reaching for his black and gold outfit...
Fifteen minutes later...
Once the rest of the crew had been "Gently" woken and had taken their baths for the morning, they all met in the dining room, a few of them groaning and stretching their sore limbs.
"I take it, everyone had a rough wake-up this morning?" Klein nervously chuckled.
Traysek slowly nodded, "Rough's one way to put that...I woke up in a knot this morning, literally,"
"Lucky you...I got to understand how a goomba felt for once..." Recorder shivered, "Now I feel bad for laughing,"
Sylla looked at Klein before saying, "You don't look like she got her hand on you, did you get up on time?"
"I woke up after I heard Recorder yell out, and by the time she got to me, I was already sitting up," The knight laughed.
Inigo chuckled, "Same, I was up after I heard Lucien and a few of you get your rough wake-ups...I wasn't going to be next,"
"You'd never catch me up this early as a student," The imperial sighed, rubbing his back.
"It's a bit easy for me since I'm used to being near dangerous beings that would like to tear you apart." Sylla shivered, "Still remembering when I decided to sleep in that forest in Limgrave... and waking up to four Rune Bears in my face..."
"Gods, the way you make those rune-bears sound, I hope I never meet any here," Yuriana whistled, "And as for the waking up, I wasn't as lucky as Inigo and Klein either, but I have hard abs, didn't hurt...TOO much," subtly rubbing her gut.
"I don't know why, but I feel like it should be an achievement to make you feel pain," Sylla sweat-dropped.
Traysek laughed, "I wouldn't recommend it, you'd be giving a masochist what she wanted,"
"Eh, only if I like it," She shrugged in response to that...
At that moment, the head maid entered with the butler following her, carrying plates.
"Today's breakfast; a cheese omelet, toasts fried with garlic and mint, a chicken pie, and you can either choose a cup of tea or coffee," Roxan said.
Traysek grinned, "And with that, we are postponing the rest of that conversation," as the platters were opened, "Anyway, once we're all done here, meet me at the office for today's briefing,"
"Oh? we've got something to do today?" Lucien asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Indeed, and it involves an investigation, I'll go into all that afterward," The Redguard assured, and the maids began to pass the plates around.
"I don't know about you, but I can't wait to dig in." Sylla drooled over the breakfast.
The others laughed as the food was served to them...
After breakfast
Captain's office...
Lucien was the last one in, before shutting the door behind him...
Traysek who was at the desk, smiled, "Good, you've all made it," turning to the others, "So I'll cut to the chase, while I'm out taking care of things, I need a few of you to investigate near the city of Ken, according to Swain, there's a power surge, a familiar one, but one that needs to be checked out, regardless"
"Okay, sounds easy enough, but where should we start from around there?" Inigo asked with an eyebrow raised.
"I'll help with that." Sylla pointed to herself, "I can easily trace it."
"You can feel that kind of power? Huh, okay then, just let us know where it is and the three of us can find it," The khajiit grinned.
The Redguard blinked twice, "Hahahah-No...Ab-solutely Not, spree shooter...Sylla's going with you, that's how she's tracing it and she's taking charge, despite being a newer member,"
"Seriously? We've been with you longer what gives?" Lucien asked, slightly offended.
"Um...let's see...last time I let you three do a job yourselves, what did you do again...?" Traysek asked in a reminding tone.
The trio got silent, the redhead wench sighing deeply...
"Alright, we get it, you don't have to remind us like that,"
"With some luck, it won't come to that." Sylla sighed.
"So with that out of the way, Klein," Traysek began turning to him, "Participation is your choice, what do you want to do?"
The dark knight nodded, "I'll go, I could use a better mission after our last one, and I'd like to see what this is myself,"
"Splendid~" The Redguard grinned, turning to Rela, "And as for you Rela..." thinking back on how she saved him from the trap, "You'll be going with me during this assignment, I'll need some eyes while being a set myself,"
Rela silently nodded.
"Alright, has anyone further questions about what we're doing?" Traysek asked, looking around.
Inigo thought on it, "Just one, who's gonna be here in case Erik comes back?"
"That'll be for the workers here to let him in, they'll know to expect him, but he's got time off, so he could come today or the next two, either way, you'll see him when you see him," The Dragonborn answered, "Does anyone else have questions?"
"None from me," Sylla replied.
He looked amongst the others getting no objections from them...
"Okay, great~ I want a full report back on what you find there," Traysek announced, turning to the imperial, "Lucien, I trust you've got that covered?"
"Of course, expect a page or two from me, never been one to hold back on those," Lucien nodded with a smile.
The Redguard nodded, "Alright, and Recorder, you know what you're doing right?"
"Yup! And I'll call Dargo after this, ask him where to meet," Record added in, going for her call stone.
"Be sure to, I'll see you out there, good luck..." The Redguard said, "That said, we leave at noon, be sure to prepare yourselves well..."
With Dargo...
Dargo stood near his mount as he looked at the paper that had the objective of his mission.
"Why the long face?" someone he knows asked.
"I... I have a bad feeling about this." Dargo sighed, turning to Evelyne, "We both know that one mistake can turn this into a bloodbath."
"You worry too much." the assassin giggled, "Not even something as chaotic as a revolution can be a problem for me."
Dargo only sighed at that. And then, a call came through on his stone...
"Yes?" he answered.
"It's Recorder, calling to let you know I'm getting ready, where are we meeting?" Record's voice rang through it.
"Near the south gate of Feoh." Dargo replied, "There's a broken tree near an old house... that's where we are."
"Gotcha, with our other help I take it, speaking of which, when do you plan on telling me who THAT is...?"
Dargo looked at the said person who grinned while waving at him, "That's... I promised to say nothing until you came here..." he sighed, "Just know that's someone that you know."
"Right...we'll I'll figure it out once I get there, I'll see you soon~" the line going dead...
Dargo shoved the calling stone back in his satchel before looking at the assassin and her mount; a long flying vulpine with purple fur and azure flames on the neck and the tail.
At the stables,
Blackfeather manor...
The large nearly empty stable, Traysek and Rela entered, the former donning his nightingale armor, sword, and a crossbow on his back... They found Trix tending to the Wyvern...
He turned to Rela, "I remember there being a guy in place of...is this other stablemaster?"
"I think that he's running errands to keep them fed." Rela answered, "That's why there are two stablemasters; one stays here in case something takes the attention of the other one."
"I get that, keeps things flowing in here, alright then, I'm gonna need the mount she's tending to anyway," He said, heading over to Trix, "Hey there~ you must be the other stablemaster, I'm here for the Wyvern there," he announced.
"You mean this big girl?" the stablemaster asked, "Sure," she then stepped away.
The Redguard frowned, "Wait...that's a female Wyvern...? I wouldn't have known that...Greil never mentioned it, I thought she was "He" " with a small sweat drop, 'And it would explain the attitude she had when I called her "cute" makes sense now...'
"It's hard to discern the gender of Wyverns as they're very similar to each other." Trix explained, "As a race considered lesser by Dragons, Dragonnewts, and other Dragonkins, the Wyverns and the Wyrms didn't get the golden evolution like the superior Dragons. From what I know, the Dragon God Karat, firstborn of the Earthmother, watched as the Dragon war evolved between the Dragon races, he then picked the three strongest ones, giving them gifts and benediction while allowing the lesser one some chances by seeing if they can't achieve something to have them reborn as superior Dragon races."
"Gods, I'm starting to wonder how many wars were fought here..." He slightly chuckled, "Well, at least I know her gender now, thanks miss-?"
"The name's Trix." she replied before noticing something, "Well, it seems like I need to check on that," she sighed before walking toward the forest outside.
He watched her leave, "She seemed nice, busy but not unpleasant," with a nod, "Alright, away we go, from what Endra told me on the stone, we're meeting him at a place called Luckwarden...ever been there?" he asked.
Rela nodded and said, "From what I heard it's a village between Feoh and Ur, and since it's in the middle, both the cities claimed it as their own, that's why they forced them to pay twice the taxes."
"Talk about getting shafted, both ways..." Traysek grimaced, "I know if Erdora suffered from being under Ken all these years, I know Luckwarden had it worse, especially with two larger cities draining it like a parasite...I hope something's been done there, I know Master Gronik went there, so there's a chance..." he pointed, climbing on the mount.
"They cut ties with both cities." Rela replied, "They're now an independent city."
"Good, they needed to, if anything it probably went as better for them," Traysek smiled, while the mount walked outside, "Since you've been there, I'll let you lead the way, We'll keep up..."
Rela nodded and sprouted two pairs of wings from her back.
When they made it outside, Rela was the first to take off and fly in a direction with the Wyvern spreading her wings and with a roar, bounded to the sky, following the dark elf...
Feoh...
South gate...
Recorder in her widow armor, had flown to the meeting place, scouting the lower ground for the old house near a broken tree, eventually finding it below...
"There! Take us down there," She told the mount...
It obliged and lowered itself to the ground, next to the tree...
She dismounted the butterfly and gave it a gentle scratch on the fur of its neck, "I'll be back~ hopefully you're not here all day," before heading towards the house...
In front of the house was Dargo with his mount near him and a flying Vulpine next to them.
Record smiled upon seeing him, "Hey Dargo~ you picked a weird place to meet up and..." frowning at the mount, "Who's is that...?"
Dargo sighed as a fencing sword was under her throat with a familiar giggle coming from behind her.
Recorder went wide-eyed for a second until she closed them with a sigh, smirking, "I see, you're coming too...? Master Évelyne...?" cutting an eye back.
"It's a stealth mission, so of course I'll come." the assassin sheathed her blade before walking forward.
Record nodded, "Right, which I know little details of..." turning to Dargo, "What does this stealth mission involve...? You didn't exactly brief me on that," with an eyebrow raised.
"I didn't know the details myself." Dargo pointed as he took out a map, "There's a garrison southwest of here. From what I heard, it houses a lot of young women that are destined to be sold as slaves by a slave master who's called the Red Snake."
"She has a lot of nicknames," Évelyne added, "Cette garce is a real piece of work. She can break anyone to become submissive..."
"That garrison is an exchange point." Dargo continued, "We need to rescue the women inside and find where the other exchange locations are,"
"In other words, a bit like our fort mission, but on a more major scale," Record nodded, "Okay, and this..."Red Snake" Woman doesn't sound like someone I want to run into..." Shivering at the thought, "Let's hope we're out before she gets there..."
"We must be quick about it." Évelyne stated, "But at the same time stealthier than a shadow."
Dargo nodded, "We need not attract any attention and to keep bodies low. The more there are, the harder it will be for us."
"Depending on how big or small this place is, that'll be optimal, assuming "Other people" don't get trigger-happy while we're out there," Recorder slightly sweated.
"What do you mean?" Dargo asked with confusion, "There's only the three of us."
She waved him off, "Not important...Anyway," changing the subject, "When are we setting out for this...?"
"Now." Dargo answered, "I prepared myself with everything that we might need." he then gave the two ladies a bunch of needles, "Stab someone with these and they will stay still filled with ice..." he then handed them some bombs, "Those will leave a thick smoke in case you're chased..." he then gave them small knives, "Those are laced with paralyzing poison that will stop the victim's body and brain for 5 hours while having their heart beating."
Recorder was in awe at her new gear, "Not bad~ can't wait to see what this does..." putting them in her pack, "Alright, I'm ready to go when you both are,"
Both Dargo and Évelyne got on their mounts, "Let's head there first." Dargo pointed out, "We can think of a strategy once we get there."
Recorder nodded, "Alright, following you two," heading back to her mount and climbing it, "Follow them,"
The mount obeyed and with a flap of its wings took off towards the sky after the other two...
Airspace
Near Luckwarden...
In the sky, Rela had flown further north with Dragonborn following behind, the lands beneath them were more forested than the plains they had flown over...Eventually, they both reach a village, the size of Erdora... The Wyvern catches up with the dark elf.
"Is this the place?" Traysek asked her, looking down with awe, "It's massive, twice the size of Erdora!"
"This village was known to be more... golden, but not anymore..." Rela stated, "Ever since other territories began to produce more food, this place was left as it was considered a waste of resources."
Traysek pursed his lips with a narrowed look, "In other words, they abandoned these people..." Shaking his head with a sigh, "The way I see it, their loss our gain, and from the looks of it, it seems to be doing them just fine..." with a slight smile, "Let's go down then, Endra's waiting,"
Said Dark Elf was sitting on a crate, eating an apple while waiting for them.
Rela and the Wyvern lowered to the ground near the main gate, the Redguard dismounting his ride... After that, they both made their way towards the waiting Endra...
"Hey there Endra~! Hope we're not late," Traysek greeted him.
Endra swallowed the bite before replying, "Not really."
"Glad to know," the Redguard nodded, looking around, "So, you picked an interesting meeting spot. It's not that I'm complaining, but why here?"
"It's close enough to where we need to go... and far enough to not be heard by Dargo." Endra pointed, "After all, we're not supposed to follow him."
Traysek nodded, "Right, we're the hidden lookouts for this...on that note, I trust you've got the hiding places worked out then?"
"Got it prepared with silencing runes and a destructive rune to when we're done." Endra pointed, "But we need to be fast, or he'll hear us get there. His damn hearing is way superior to anything I know."
"Then let's get a move on, by the time we get settled in, they should be arriving there," said the Redguard.
"Alright!" Endra snapped his fingers as his mount appeared from the flames, "It's not that far." he pointed while mounting the fiery phoenix.
"Okay, we're following you," Traysek nodded, heading back to his mount while Rela spread her wings once more...
Near the garrison...
The trio arrived at a hidden cabinet in the trees overlooking the garrison.
"We can yell as much as we want in here, no one can hear us." Endra pointed, "And I prepared some food in case someone wanted to eat something."
"Not bad~ I had wondered if we can speak or not," The Redguard nodded with a grin, "And as for the food, still a bit full from breakfast earlier, but given how long we'll be out here, we'll need it sooner or later,"
Rela looked at the Garrison, "The view is clear..."
Traysek walked to the viewpoint, spotting a clear view of the compound, "Yeah, it is, we can see plenty from up here, and seeing that our friends haven't gotten here yet, we're on time..." clicking on his scouter, getting reading of twelve outside, watching a few on patrol, "I'm counting twelve down there, from the size of that garrison up here, it doesn't seem all that impressive, but that's only from up here," clicking it off.
Rela looked at it and narrowed her eyes, "I feel like there's something beneath it... but my vision is blocked by some sort of barrier..."
"Probably is..." Traysek concurred, "The more I look at this garrison, the more I'm reminded of bandit forts from back home...there were too many to count with those..." shaking his head, "Here's hoping they can get through this place, and see what's there, most likely where they're holding people they've got in captivity,"
"Most likely women and young girls to be trained." Endra replied, "They're to be sent to the Red Snake..."
The Redguard grimaced, "Yeah, to that Oboro-woman, heard that one was a nasty customer, even to a god's standards...Praying they don't run into her, either,"
Rela narrowed her eyes as she saw someone leave the building, "What's a Dark Elf doing with them?"
Traysek zoomed the scouter in on the mysterious dark elf, "Not...sure...From the looks of it, she's not a slave," turning to Endra, "Do you have any idea who that might be?"
Endra looked at the Elf and shook his head, "Never met her before... as for how she's dressing... it's like she's an assassin."
"Getting that, but I wondering whose side she's on," The Redguard responded, "Either she's there as a customer or they don't see her,"
"Either way... she's not on our side." Endra pointed as the Dark Elf walked and sat on a chair.
Traysek hummed at that, "Definitely not...let's hope she's in a leaving mood by the time they arrive, or they might have a problem on their hands," turning to them, "Might as well get comfortable and play the waiting game," summoning a chair and taking a seat.
"I need to inform the general..." Endra mumbled before leaning on a wall and keeping watch.
30 minutes later...
With Recorder...
Recorder and her team finally arrived northeast near the garrison, a good ten minutes away... The trio landed their mounts in an opening surrounded by thick trees...
Dargo looked around, "Seems like there's no one around..."
"Good, that means no one saw us fly over them," Record noted, "So where do we go from here, and what's the plan?"
Dargo thought for a bit before saying, "First thing first, I need someone to scout the place-"
"I'll do it," Évelyne said with a grin.
Dargo nodded, "We can come up with a good strategy with what we'll get from it."
"Alrighty then, guess we're hiding out here until then, good luck Master Evelyne~" Recorder smiled.
"Don't be too noisy~" and the assassin ran away.
Record waved her off, "Yeah yeah, don't make me take back my "good luck" geez..." rolling her eyes once she saw the woman disappear.
"So... how were you doing after going home?" Dargo tried to bring up a subject, hoping to alleviate the awkwardness of the situation.
She chuckled, "To be honest? first stepping in? kinda terrifying...Very...those creatures are frightening, and those I think, are the outside guards, giant bees, four armed gorillas...with venom in its fangs..." shivering at the thought, "But once I got inside, it was easy to relax, the house was bigger than I thought it be...even with us all there, there's still plenty of room...over 70 remaining, but that moment of tranquility was interrupted by "gravity quakes and thunderclaps!" going bitter at that last part.
"What?" Dargo looked at her with a confused expression.
She took a deep sigh, "Sylla and the boss are an item right now, and we could all hear it and that's how it was coming out, there were even shakes...SHAKES of it..." with an eyebrow twitch.
"Oh... I see..." Dargo looked away, feeling awkward.
When she realized what she had done, she coughed, "M-my bad...I wasn't trying to...lead it there...just letting you know, it's a pretty good spot we're at...but, what about you? What did you do after you went home?" with a sweatdrop smile.
"O-Oh, well... I prepared myself for the mission and trained a little..." Dargo replied.
Recorder raised an eyebrow, "That's all? I mean, I understand, but how are the sibs doing? I know they had to be happy seeing you after the battle and performance,"
"Well, we did share a meal, and then I tried to get them to sleep... but it didn't work..." the Dark Elf answered, "Canvi went and decided to pick a weapon to start training while Efrida took magic books and began to read them..."
"Nice~! Looks like you've been an inspiration there, glad they're doing well though~" She smiled, thinking about something, "Say...what are you doing after this...?"
"To be honest, I don't know..." Dargo replied, "My first thought was to go and become an adventurer in the Adventurers' Guild... but again, I do have a lot of possibilities in front of me."
"Okay, well..." Record began with a blush starting to form, 'Come on Record, get it together, you got him where you want him, don't shy up now...!'
"I was thinking later after the mission, for a change...I could invite you to...dinner," feeling red hot in the face, "If...that's okay with you..."
"W-W-Well... I wouldn't mind... I-I'd be happy to." Dargo replied, with a face as red as Recorder's.
For a moment, they both seemed frozen in that spot, as the environment around them began to heat, Recorder noticing how hot it was getting, cleared her throat...
"D-dargo...? You're gonna set the forest on fire if this keeps up,"
"R-Right..." the Dark Elf nodded.
Once things cooled down again, Record took a deep breath, her blush slightly going down...
"I just thought to do it because you have for me during my training and to...thank you...for everything..." with a sweet smile, "You can even invite your siblings too if you want, I know you don't want to be away from them too long either,"
"It would be like bringing two Endras..." his sweat dropped.
Recorder thought back on their nights there, coughing with a laugh.
"Now I just had a bad image of all three of them being there teasing us, my god...maybe that's not a good idea then," with a chuckle, turning in the direction, "I wonder what's taking master Evelyne, I hope she hasn't been caught already,"
"I'm just giving you lovebirds time for yourself~" a familiar voice sang behind a tree.
Record nearly fell over, catching herself and snapping her neck towards said tree...
"Are you kidding me? How long have you been standing there?"
"That's a secret~" Évelyne walked from behind the tree, grinning.
At this point, Recorder took a deep breath, trying to fight off the approaching blush, "Goddamn it, that means you heard it all..." shaking her head, "Since we saw you run off, how did the scouting go?"
"The security is tight around the place, a bit and I'd get spotted." Évelyne pointed, "It'll be hard to get near it... especially with the magic around..."
"Damn...they've got the place locked down already, and if you were nearly caught, direct approach is a bad call," Recorder sighed, shaking her head, turning to Dargo, "So what's the plan?"
"We need a diversion." Dargo replied as he took out a vital filled with red liquid, "By spreading this, we can get some creatures to approach enough... and with the scent that it'll unleash... it will make them hungry..."
"Beast lures, yeah, that'll do it!" Record nodded in agreement, "Do you have more bottles of that? We might have to lace the entire camp if it's that tight in security"
"We can't approach it more than I did." Évelyne nervously chuckled.
"We gonna have to spread it around the camp." Dargo said as he handled his two teammates three bottles, "As well as getting some as close as possible."
Record took the bottles, "Easier said than done, and that depends on how close Evelyne was able to get," turning around to her, "How close can we get to drop this?"
"If we can get one to get a little far from the others, I'd be able to impersonate him and get some inside..." the assassin began, "But..."
"It's too risky." Dargo stated, "We're going to need to play it safe and only spray around it."
"Just, make sure to stay hidden in the bushes..." Évelyne sighed, "Some of those men are too good to be underestimated... especially the older ones."
Dargo nodded, "Veterans are quick to catch sounds..."
"Okay, so we just need to stay hidden and quiet while we do this, that's not hard to get," Record thought, "Anything else you see in that bit of time?"
"No... but I heard something about lab rats, or something close to it..." Évelyne mumbled, unsure of herself.
"So we won't know until we're actually in there, okay," Recorder nodded, going in her bag, "Well in that case, take a couple of these, we'll need them to spread lure, they're invisibility potions, and these last for a minute," handing them two large bottles of it.
"If I had those with me... I would have done great in some infiltration missions back in France..." Évelyne commented.
"Once there's enough lure, we get as far as possible and wait for the chaos." Dargo stated, "That would be our cue."
"Alright then, let's get started~" Record smiled, donning a half-mask, "I'm ready whenever you two are,"
"Let's make this quick." Dargo nodded, "We'll meet up here after being done."
Meanwhile, at the lookout...
Traysek was keeping an eye on the site, and noting any changes...he had spotted someone in a hood a few moments before, unable to get close to the garrison. As he scanned the site over, he spotted three shadows approaching...
"Hey, Endra? I think I see them down there," he pointed, "Looks like they were with that hooded figure after all, I see them too,"
"Seems like the real deal began." Endra grinned, "Time to see if Dargo can do it."
The Redguard grinned, "About time, let's just hope they can get through this without us having to fire a single shot," glancing at the crossbow...
At the Garrison...
One of the knights yawned before looking at the young Dark Elf there, "You do know that they won't arrive now, right."
"It doesn't matter, I'll wait here." the young woman replied, "Besides, it stinks inside."
"Wanna get a feel?" another knight asked with a grin, "We can get in one of the rooms and I promise I'll be gentle~"
"As much as I desire that, I'm on duty." she replied, "The lady wants more slaves to keep trades with the Gnolls there, worst thing to do is to become their enemy..."
"They're just a bunch of stupid animals." the present knights laughed at that comment.
"You'd think otherwise if you went there," the Dark Elf narrowed her eyes, "They became way more strategic than before... not to speak about their new city... one wrong move and we would have been wiped out of the desert..."
"Just join us and Volt will assure you that you won't get treated like any other bitch." the first knight said with a grin, "With your help, we can get the upper hand in this war."
The Dark Elf sighed, "As a Banished Elf, I would love to kill that fake queen... the Discordia family needs to be extinguished... however, dealing with her means dealing with that monster of a general under her command,"
"Don't remind me..." another knight shivered, "I once saw him on the battlefield... and the carnage that he caused..."
"Here's the deal that Lady Arte has: find where the city is, and we'll join you." the Banished Elf stated.
Record, Dargo, and Evelyne remained hidden at a visible distance, the former frowning at the encampment...
"There it is...god damn, that's a lot of security..." She shivered, "Expected lower numbers, it's a good thing I got the potions,"
Dargo sprayed half of the lure on a tree before quickly getting to a bush and spraying what was left of the lure. Évelyne did the same, only at different places.
Recorder followed suit and sprayed half on a tree, before retreating to another bush and spraying the rest out, heading back to the hiding place with the other two...
"Now... we wait." Dargo narrowed his eyes, keeping a watch.
From above Traysek noticed what they had done, frowning deeply while zooming in with the scouter, "Looks like they've sprayed something down there, not sure what it is, but it looks like blood,"
"Something's approaching..." Rela looked in a direction, "5... no, 8 creatures are running toward the garrison..."
Within moments, the entire compound got swarmed with giant mutated dogs or rats, whatever they were...They were viciously attacking the guards there, a few being ripped apart violently by the monstrous hounds...
"Call the others! Call the others!" one of the guards yelled before having his head bit off.
"Let's be quick." Dargo drank the potion before rushing toward the garrison.
Recorder and Evelyne followed up by drinking theirs and turning invisible, heading in with him...
...
"Very nice, they used a beast lure to disrupt the security there, from how they just vanished, she took my advice on the invisibility potions," Traysek said, viewing the entire chaos.
Endra nervously chuckled as he said, "For some reason... I pity those knights..."
"I find it entertaining," Rela commented.
The Redguard glanced around and found the strange elf fighting off the monstrous hounds, "That strange elf is also busy helping the guards there, and moved from the entrance, they've got a clear way in if those potions can last,"
Rela continued to watch as she noticed that the potion stopped making effect the moment they got inside the building.
"Seems like they barely made it," she commented.
"At its highest, those potions usually last a minute, sometimes thirty seconds over, never more... Assuming she's got more than one each, they should be okay," Traysek pointed out, while watching the chaos below, "For the most part, they're in, whatever they see down there is between them and the gods,"
...
Inside, Dargo led the way, cutting down anyone unlucky enough to come across them.
"Seems like he's serious," Évelyne commented, finishing some of those that escaped the onslaught.
Recorder nodded, impaling a black dog with the ice shiv, freezing him into the wall, "From how it smells in here, I can't blame him..."
The dungeon they had entered had reeked of blood and whatever fluids were permeating down there, the hall had been a narrow one, as they passed by empty cages, some with a couple of corpses inside...
"God, what kind of shit goes on here...?" Record gasped, grimacing at the state of some prisoners there.
"Don't know... but we should make haste with this..." Évelyne stated as she was freeing some of the prisoners.
"Agreed," Recorder nodded, beginning to free the prisoners on her side of the wall.
Dargo cut down an Orc before walking to some cages and cutting the bars, "Évelyne... go see where the main office is and grab anything that can help in finding the other hideouts." he then looked toward Recorder, "Let's free the rest... I have a way to escape this place without passing by the main gate."
"Will do!" Record answered After opening another cage, helping out a group of people trapped in, "Come on, let's go," she coaxed, getting each one out until the last...
Once they were out of the way, a minotaur had a blow wound up from above, prompting her to dodge and roll away from the smash, which left a deep dented hole in the ground.
Record then got back on her feet, hovering a hand over her blade, before tossing a smoke at the Bullman, making him along with a few others choke...
Moments after, cobalt flashes rapidly zipped across the throats of the black dogs and knights trapped in the cloud, the last going across the large minotaur's neck, causing the entire entourage to fall over with their throats slit, the smoke clearing to Record resheathing her blade.
Dargo closed his eyes and began to listen more, "There are still people here... way more than I thought they'd be..."
"Below us?" Record asked, stepping over a corpse, "I didn't think this prison went any lower than this,"
Dargo walked to a bookshelf and cut it to pieces, revealing a staircase.
"A hidden staircase...okay, let's see where this rabbit hole goes," Record said, following him in.
When they got in, the smell intensified, the hallway even darker than the last with barely any lit torches on the walls, and even those had seemed ancient.
Carefully making their way down, Dargo quickly took out an approaching black dog with a quick slash upon him spotting them when they reached the bottom of the staircase, letting Recorder keep an eye on those they rescued.
"This looks like everyone here...unless Master Évelyne is freeing more upstairs," She informed him, before turning around to the large area in front of them...
There was blood and a mix of fluids all over the walls, running to the floor, somewhat still fresh...along them were over twenty cages, filled with dozens of women each, making Record's blood run cold...
"What...the fuck...?" She blinked twice, mouth slightly agape.
"It seems like an arena or something..." Dargo narrowed his eyes as he walked forward, "And with the scent in it... it's easy to know how it's used..."
Record walked further in with furrowed brows, "I'm not surprised about what that might be...let's just get these women out quickly before something big comes along, this already feels too easy,"
"Way too easy..." Dargo looked around, Feeling nervous as his hand hovered above his sword.
When Record started releasing the prisoners in one cage, there was a large looming shadow nearby...
Dargo continued looking around until he heard something, "Watch out!"
She quickly looked upward to find something large coming down at her, prompting her to roll away from the cage, dodging the attempted smash which left a large dust cloud...
When it cleared, there stood a monstrous Centaur with long blonde hair and spiky armor, his menacing amber eyes focused on the pair, clenching his sharp teeth.
"A Centaur...? Something looks...wrong with him," Recorder pointed out, hand on her sword, "He looks mutated, like the dogs outside,"
"Women... mate... fill with children..." it said with a monstrous tone.
"I knew it... they experimented on Centaurs. But the question is why..." Dargo crouched, getting ready to charge in.
Recorder stood ready, "Judging from the deranged hunger in his eyes, I think we know what for...poor guy, probably had his mind broken to get to this point,"
The Centaur pushed a warcry, giving him a red aura around him before he charged toward Recorder.
"Shit!" She cursed, quickly diving out of the way of the charge, and returning fire by throwing two poisoned daggers at him.
The daggers bounced off his skin as he turned to charge at Recorder again, only to shield himself from Dargo's blade.
"I'll occupy him! Free those women and go to a nearby wall!" he then threw a runic stone to her, "Put this on the wall to create a portal to Feoh!" he was then thrown to a pillar with a punch.
"You strong... eating make me strong..." the Centaur grinned madly before charging toward Dargo.
She bit her lip upon hearing that, but sighed in defeat with a nod, "Alright, but I'm not leaving you alone with that!" going and freeing the captives from their cages.
Dargo rolled out of the way, letting the mad Centaur charge into the wall, and delivered a great number of slashes that left only some scars that healed.
Wasting no time, Recorder made short work of the locks on the cages with quick slashes to the locks, opening the cages and letting out the dozens of people within them.
Dargo rolled out of another attack as the Centaur began breathing black flames.
Record sweated slightly at the black flames, moving freeing the prisoners once again, 'No...he'll be fine, I just make sure they're all out...!'
Meanwhile, back outside, the chaos continued, however, it seemed that the occupants of the garrison had started to gain an edge, making the trio watching from above frown hard.
Traysek had a furrowed brow, watching the entrance, and still no signs of them...
"By the nine, what's taking so long...?" He breathed, "If they get a move on, the guards here are going to be back on security soon,"
"It reeks of blood..." Rela narrowed her eyes, "It can bring more, if not worse..."
"Yup... it sure will bring something..." Endra watched as he noticed someone looking out one of the windows, "What the..."
"He's dead cold," Rela replied before snapping somewhere, "Something big is approaching..."
When they all looked out of the window he was gaping at, they saw a giant bear make its way into the fray, tearing apart a black dog before biting into the skull of an orc.
"What...What kind of bear is that...?" Traysek asked in a slightly shaken tone, "Never seen them that big, ever..."
"Way bigger than a Dire Bear..." Endra commented with wide eyes.
The Redguard whistled at the sight of the giant bear swiping a knight's head completely off with its deadly claws...
"Gods, I'd hate to get into a fight with one of them...not that I wouldn't be able to take it, but the horror that bear's bringing..." He gulped, as it gave off a powerful roar, blowing a crowd of them apart, literally...
"Yeah... there's no way they can get out of the main gate now..." Endra dryly commented.
Traysek nodded with a slightly worried look, "Here's to hoping they've got another way out, there's no way we'd be able to go and get them now," with a slight sweat drop.
Back in the dungeon, Recorder cut the last lock to the cage, setting the last ten women free, sighing in relief...
"Out we go! Come on!" she coaxed, as the women rushed to their feet, getting out of the cage...
She turned back around to find Dargo still locked in combat with the centaur, before heading to a nearby wall and placing the rune there, causing a portal to activate and appear, "This will take you all to Feoh, there's people that can help, go now, hurry!"
The women quickly rushed into the portal, Record ushering and helping them in until the last one had got in, turning back around to the battle, "Dargo! The hostages have gone through! We can finish up here!"
"Go! This Centaur isn't like the others!" Dargo yelled as he evaded a claw of boiling blood.
"What?! I can't leave you here alone with this! and we're still waiting for Evelyne to get down here, you'll need the help against this guy!" She protested, with a hand on her sword.
"I can't have you getting hurt!" Dargo rolled out of the way before creating a wall of ice, "If anything were to happen to you... I'll never forgive myself, nor will the others..."
"Dargo..." Record uttered in a low tone, her hands were shaking, one clenched in fist and the other on the blade...
At this moment, thoughts ran through her mind like a bullet train...more than anything, she knew the right thing to do would be to stay and help him fight...against a foe like this one... She knew he'd need the help...However...with what was just said moments ago, and knowing that he'd do anything to ensure that... She also didn't want to be the reason he died in this fight...
It was a tough decision, not one easily made, but in the end...she finally relented, the shaking ending with her eyes sad and dark...
"Alright...I'll...go..." She told him in a shaking tone, turning for the portal before stopping, "But if you don't come back from this...I'll never forgive you! You hear me? Come back alive, I mean it!" in an aggressive tone, giving him a final worried smile, before reluctantly stepping through the portal...
The Dark Elf narrowed his eyes as the Centaur broke the ice wall...
"Time for me to use it..." Dargo began to hover his hand above the katana he asked for.
"Women gone... you reason why women gone..." The mad Centaur grabbed his head as he began to feel a sharp pain that transformed into horns that erupted from his body, "You... dead..."
Dargo barely evaded a charge before sending a flurry of godly fast slashes that did nearly nothing.
"Me strong... you weak..." The centaur emitted some sick yellow flames and breathed a good amount toward the Dark Elf who dodged it before rushing with a piercing strike that barely went deeper.
"He should be afflicted with the Rot by now," Dargo mumbled as he rolled out of the way of a grabbing attempt.
Dargo jumped out of the way as a flash bomb was thrown at the Centaur.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the portal, Niall's free knights were helping the wounded women there, healing their wounds and giving them medicines to fight off whatever had been brewing down there, some were sicker than most...
Record waited by the still swirling portal for Dargo and Evelyne to come through it, wondering if she had made the right decision...
'Come on Dargo...Evelyne, I'm already starting to regret this...' biting her lip in thought...
At that moment, two figures jumped through the portal.
Upon seeing them both and the portal closing, she breathed a sigh of relief, going over to them...
"Guys! You've made it! I got worried for a second!" Record greeted them, "What happened to that Centaur?"
"He was a lot tougher than anticipated," Dargo replied, "I couldn't finish him... but I managed to complete the mission."
"We even got the location of all the exchange points in Feoh," Évelyne added with a smirk while showing a bag full of papers, letters, and scrolls.
Recorder nodded, "So even you couldn't beat him...damn...If we run into him again, it'll be a cold day in hell, hopefully, but I'm glad you got out..." regarding him with a smile, turning to Evelyne, "And it seems you found quite a bit there, Master E~ In that case, the mission was a success~"
Dargo nodded and said, "The women are safe and we have the information we need..."
"Alright, so...what happens now?" Record asked them.
"The general has to know of what happened," Dargo answered.
"Right, the report...I'll see you after then~," She told him with a sweet smile, turning to Evelyne, "And you Master E? Same place?"
But instead of finding the master assassin, she saw no one standing there but the bag on the ground where she stood.
Record blinked twice, sighing deeply, "Never mind... I got an answer," picking up the bag, "Well, might as well take these too, I figured she would've disappeared and done that," with a chuckle.
"You'll bring those to the General?" Dargo asked.
"I don't mind doing so, and I did intend to wait on you either way," Record grinned shouldering the bag, "Let's go!"
"Just... where did you intend to take those...?" Dargo sweat-dropped.
She stopped and thought about it, chuckling in embarrassment at the realization, "You know what? On second thought, here, take 'em'" Quickly handing them to him, "I'll... head back home in the meantime, that dungeon stunk and I could use a bath..."
"R-Right..." Dargo nodded.
"After...if you want... Come find me, we'll figure something out," She smiled, "I'll see you around, Dargo~ take care~" giving him a quick hug, before making her way out of the building...
Back at the viewpoint...
The trio watched over the nearly destroyed garrison, most of the guards had either been slain by the wildlife or had fled with very few remaining to fight the remnants off...
"Gods...If they take any longer, I'm gonna start believing they're either dead or captured in there," Traysek said, narrowing his eyes.
"Heh, if something happened to Dargo, you'd know it," Endra replied, "You know... an explosion of pure ice."
"True, but then what gives? If they've warped out somehow, we should be getting a call or something,"
At that moment, there was a call on Traysek's device.
"And right on cue," He sighed, answering the call stone, "Hello?"
"Boss! It's Recorder, if you guys are still there, you don't need to be, we're finished up there, we warped out with a rune and ended up in Feoh, Dargo just went to give his report in,"
Traysek nodded with a small grin, "I see, very well, I'll let them know...where are you headed now?"
"Back home, I need to shower this stink off, in the skies now,"
"Very well, I'll see you soon," The Redguard nodded, disconnecting the call, "Okay, that was just Recorder and we can go, they took a rune portal out while down there, and Dargo just went off to give his report, she's on her way back to the manor now,"
"Well, I'm going to take a nap back home." Endra stretched his arms, "If you need help, call for me."
"Of course," The Redguard nodded, grabbing the crossbow and carrying it on his shoulder, "Once we get our mounts, are we still activating that destruction rune?"
"It will be activated once we get out." Endra replied, "Why the question?"
"Just making sure, I'm pretty thorough when it comes to jobs like this," The Redguard answered, making sure he had everything he came with, "You learn to be after a while, that said, I'm good to go," turning around to the other Dark elf, "You ready, Rela?"
"Yes..." she answered.
Once they stepped out, the small lookout started to melt and deteriorate at a rapid rate, making the Redguard nod in thought...
"Huh, so the rune was a corrosive one, makes sense, an explosion would've triggered everything here," Traysek nodded in approval, watching the viewpoint get eaten away.
"He might not look like it, but Dargo's pretty smart." Endra pointed, "If it was an explosion, he would have guessed that someone was looking, and he knows that the Holy Cans aren't clever enough to clean after them. And that... would have been a whole source of trouble..." he then chuckled, "Honestly, I didn't know that he'd take that way out."
"Must've felt chained to go through with it, some people can feel like that," Traysek nodded, before smirking, "And knowing how close he and Recorder probably are, could be the main reason...Either way, I'm all for it, they're cute together,"
"Anyways, I need to get back." Endra snapped his fingers, summoning his mount with a small burst of flames, "I need to get some things before hitting home. See ya later."
"Alright Endra, take care, tell Thely's and the kids I said, "Hi" " Traysek grinned, watching him and get on the flaming bird before it took off...
He then grabbed the whistle from his pocket and blew into it, calling the wyvern, who came without so much as roar...
"Time to head back, let's hope the others finished what they were assigned to do and that they've got a report ready for your master to view," He told her, mounting the wyvern.
"It might be more complicated than expected..." Rela pointed, spreading her wings.
"Possibly, with what they're searching for, it could be anything," Traysek agreed, "One way or another we'll know, the only thing I'm wondering at this moment..." he paused, "What will we be in time for when we get back..."
"In time for what?" Rela tilted her head with confusion.
"That depends, are we closer to Lunch or tea? Missed both last time," Traysek frowned deeply.
"No matter how fast you go... you won't make it for tea." Rela stated after looking at the sun.
He clicked his tongue, "Dammit...I was hoping to catch it this time, oh well," he shrugged.
"Why not stop in one of the inns nearby?" Rela suggested, "I can try to make something that'd suit your taste."
"Oh? You know how to make your own types of drinks...? I was never told this," Traysek said with an eyebrow raised, "What kind do you usually make?"
"Depends on what you wish to have," she replied.
He nodded, thinking on it, "Well, normally, a nice hard drink would be good after a hard day...but today wasn't one and I'm not in the mood to get piss drunk, so I'll settle with something non-alcoholic today," giving the wyvern a gentle tap, getting her to spread her wings.
"You'd have to be a bit more specific..." Rela pointed.
"Hmm, you know what? I'll get that figured out on the way there, and I have an idea of where to go since we're already close to it," Traysek concluded with a nod, "Let's take off,"
And with that, both Rela and the Wyvern took to the skies, heading straight in the direction of Luckwarden...
At Ur
City gates...
Having been on the road for hours, the holy carriage finally arrived at Ur...the driver stopped at the stables near the gate.
"Now what's the first stop?" Marquel asked as he got out.
Rey stepped out next, yawning along with the other two knights...
"Well, since we're at the stables first, let's see if we can get a replacement horse or horses for this carriage, and since this city has remained untouched, we'll get powerful steeds for certain,"
"True... still from the looks of it it doesn't seem like a great quality. " Marquel frowned.
"I would almost agree, but they'll be in better shape than the current one," Rey pointed out, "Let's start here," heading over to a holy knight tending the horses.
"I hope we'll get something good..." Marquel mumbled, following Rey.
When they got to the stable knight, The silver-haired knight cleared his throat...
"Celestine's light to you, brother knight~" Rey greeted him, "We're looking for requisition for a healthier and stronger horse, wondered if you could help in that regard,"
The stable-knight sighed before replying, "I wish there were some good ones, but they've been bought to help in the upcoming battles. All that we have left aren't the best... There are only 6 horses left."
"I expected that, with how Feoh fell, the stronger breeds would go to the active knights here, that's no problem at all," Reynold responded, "We're not in the market for the best anyway, a healthy average steed will do, let's see what you have,"
"Alright... take your pick." the knight sighed, "After all, these six boys are all that's left..."
Rey nodded, looking them over, "Don't worry, this won't take too long," going over to the six horses...
Starting with the first horse, was a chestnut-colored mare, that had a hard time standing on one of her hooves, the second was a midnight-colored mare, standing a bit better than the first, but was skinnier than the average horse, the third one was a completely white one, standing tall, and seemingly healthier than the other two, bulkier even...The fourth was a spotted horse, seemingly shy and small like the other two nags. The fifth was a cream-colored nag, who limped around as if tired, and the sixth one was a grey-colored mare, just as healthy as the third horse, drinking water...
'Hmm, that first one is a no-go, that limp looks like it's going to be a problem in the long run, the second horse is okay, but too skinny for my tastes...the third, now he's okay...look healthier than the other two and is raring to go...I like him actually, he might come with me... the fourth is okay, but just as small...the fifth one, much like the first is either tired or limping, that'll do no good either and the last one, I might take with me, he's just as healthy as the third...' Rey mused while looking each one over.
"You weren't wrong, some of them are in bad shape, but so far, I like both the white and grey steeds,"
"I see..." the stable-knight nodded, looking at the two selected horses, "Well, their price is 7.500 gold for both."
At that time a strange man wearing a colorful furred set of clothes with a white mask that hides the lower part of his face and has a white small hat that has white fur and some feathers on the right side of it. He seemed to be wearing a light purple shirt under a cape that had a lot of color on it, light red gloves, white pants, and black boots.
"Excuse me... but are you selling those horses?" the man asked while looking at the four ones that were left.
"Yes... but these aren't the... best ones in the market." the knight replied.
"I see why you'd say that... well then, how about I buy them from you for 20.000 gold pieces?" the man asked, shocking the knight who had his eyes wide with surprise.
'Impressive, he was able to pay that much? What kind of merchant is this...?'
Rey grabbed the coin purse that Marquel handed him and gave it to the stable knight, "We'll take the white and grey horses, they should suffice,"
"Yes, it would." the stable-knight nodded.
"As for me, here's for the four." the man said, giving him a larger bag.
"R-Right!" after taking both bags, he handed the horses to their new owners.
Rey nodded, turning to Marquel, "Okay, take the grey mare, I got the other one," grabbing the lead of the white horse and petting his mane.
"Here you go." the strange man gave each of his newly acquired horses some sort of blue raisins, "Now you're good to go." he then began to walk away with the horses.
Rey watched what he gave them, thinking, "Huh, wonder what he gave them...the wounded ones are up like they just weren't down moments ago...maybe when we get some gold, hopefully, we'll find him again,"
"Now where to go?" Marquel asked.
"Now that we have one of what we need, and that noble you mentioned is town, correct? It's about time we had a chat with him...in the meantime," Rey paused, handing his lead to one of the other holy knights, "I need you two to get the horses set on the carriage, leave the other one on it, we'll be here for a while, she'll be able to get the needed rest,"
"Count Lorel Nutilus, a former knight who distinguished himself in both the war and in some skirmishes against the Rebel Army of Geofu." Marquel stated, "He's... let's say that he's having a hard time with business due to a duke in Geofu who keeps attacking his caravans that are headed to Ken."
Rey studied his second for a bit, "Uh-huh...and this...Count doesn't have any baggage, does he? The last noble I befriended ended up killing one of the maids in his service, I need to know before we go plunging deep into a deal with this guy," with a serious look.
"C'mone, he's clean." Marquel defended before adding, "Besides, where's the harm in teaching heathens that heresy isn't the way of life? As Holy Knights, we must spread the church's teachings and extinguish any heretical beliefs."
"Yes, I agree, but only when they deserve it, Marquel, not when they're just LIVING..." The lead knight quickly answered, "You forget that oaths as holy knights, is to also show compassion and mercy on top of teaching the church's healing light...if we are to do so, then those have to be evident...not to everyone, but those warranted for it...that said," smiling at him, "I'll take your word for it, if you say he's clean, then he's clean...you know him more than I do..."
"I only met him a couple of times." Marquel replied, "He usually gives good advice to people in need."
"Good advice huh? I could use a lot of that," Reynold nodded, "Very well, take us there,"
"Alright, here we go!" and Marquel began to guide the silver-haired knight.
At the Nutilus residence...
The knight duo had arrived at the large gate, the house able to be seen from it, making Rey squint his eyes at it...
"Is that his house...? It looks like a monastery..." he gapped, looking at the overgrown plants outside the house.
"He's a bit zealot when it comes to church affairs." Marquel pointed out, "After all he led quite many punishing campaigns against heretics who rejected the holy words of the church. Some consider him a hero with all his accomplishments."
"Some you say, huh?" Rey smirked, sighing with a chuckle, "Well, given his accomplishments, it makes sense he'd have a manor like this one..." looking around there, "Is anyone home? doesn't seem like it..."
"He has to be." Marquel said as he entered, "Those who don't hold any heretical thoughts are welcome at any time to his home."
Rey frowned at the opened gate, "Okay, didn't know his gate was left open, anyway, let's go..." walking through the gate as well, following Marquel to the main house...
Marquel stopped as assassins stepped out of hiding places, "Easy there, we're here to see the lord about something."
Some of the assassins whispered between themselves before going back to their hiding spots.
"That...that was the order of light..." Rey said, slightly gapping by the mouth, "To get even one of them to guard you...it takes a very VERY high influence..."
"Heh, that's just the tip of the valley." Marquel chuckled as he knocked at the door, "If we can get his aid, we will have a chance with this new order."
Rey nodded with a small smile, "Yeah...I think you might be right, even with how extreme he is...that edge is what we'll need to get going..." before a smirk appeared, 'Oh...this just might go well after all...in that case...Greil...Traysek, I hope you both worked on your kneeling...I do...' having that same image as before with them both kneeling to him at his throne in holy-themed armor...
"Besides, I heard that he knows the leader of the Silver Axe, personally," Marquel whispered to him.
"Does he now...?" Rey asked with a hard frown, "I've heard things about her...both good and bad...the good, being the fact that she and the silver axes have been successful on any incursion they've been assigned to...so much so, lady Claudia appointed them as the shock troop of the holy knights..." he sighed after, "And the bad...is what she does to men as young as you and me...she's been kicked out of several brothels for a reason..." thinking about it, "But if she's aggressive to guys like us...that gives me an idea...and it could be a way, we prevent our appointed sword-defender from acting out...especially with that helping us..."
"Let's go meet the man." Marquel continued to guide Rey in the mansion.
Upon being guided through the manor, Rey noted the many statues of Celestine in a neat row in the main hall, before spotting a large photo of him, a proud young man with dark auburn hair with a face of regality... the walls were ivory-white as the pillars, but along those walls were trophies of his past enemies: Lycan heads, minotaur horns, scales of either a dragonnewt of a salamander, and the wings of a succubus, along with many monster parts, all hung on walls with labels of what monster folk they belonged to...
'By Celestine, so many monster parts, he must've been one hell of a knight in his youth, some of these are from monster-kin that are extinct now...' Rey mused.
When they arrived in front of a door, Marquel knocked on the door as an old voice sounded, "Who's here!"
Rey cleared his throat, "Hello Sir, This is Reynold Von Musel, commander of Fort Hroka! I'm here with my Second, Marquel Fervus, who led me here, do you have a moment to spare?"
"Enter!" and Marquel opened the door, allowing Rey to get in first.
When he entered, he was treated to a gold and silver-themed office, with wooden bookshelves in the back that had gold lacings on them...The man in front of him seemed to be the same as the picture, but only now...he'd seemed to gain weight compared to then, donning a blue long coat with a white dress shirt underneath, sitting at the desk working on something...
The old man looked up, "Ho~ it's been quite a while, Marquel, how can I be of service? Need of a new batch?"
The knight laughed, waving his hand, "No need, Lord Nutilus, the family still has some of the last batch of grains that you sent."
"Heh, you sure that you don't want a new one?" the old lord laughed.
"I'm- no, we're here for something far more important." Marquel then looked at Rey.
Rey gave a bow, "Greetings Lord Nutilus, as I said before, I'm Reynold Von Musel, seasoned knight, disciple of Claudia, and newly appointed fort commander and we've come seeking your guidance on the matter,"
The lord raised an eyebrow as Marquel closed the door.
To be continued...
So for the many who have remained, and have not fallen off like dead flies (Because It's not appealing to a "Certain Crowd" or whatever the reason may be, I guess? Whoops...?) In the Next chapter we're taking a break from the main story for a while, don't worry, we'll continue with Sylla's team's investigation after, but you're in for a surprise this time around, a good one, and no not a lemon either, I'm not gonna spoil that, we'll have it out soon, take care and enjoy your summer :)