39


    <span style="font-weight:400">In the evening, Kostner arrived. Hemands Howard to open all of our cages. Not the nervous mercenary though.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Follow me.” Kostner said as he leave


    <span style="font-weight:400">I let Taal and Rhya leave out first since I want to check something. The ne calmed down as they left. Seems like the mercenary is clean. Only then I followed outside.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“So, mind telling me why the two of you are here in disguise?” I whispered to Rhya


    <span style="font-weight:400">“You saw the golden light?” she whispered back


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Uh huh”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Usually it will be very hard for us, but now we can visit the mortal world without an avatar again. Since the summer festival ising soon, we decided toe in disguise and surprise Ulric.” Allright. One moreplication, gods can materialize because of what I did. I’m d I will be a Greater Daemon soon.


    <span style="font-weight:400">We are led to the city square where three pyres are erected. On one is the female nun and on the two are the two men with her back within the house. Evidence of heavy torture is visible on the nun, skins on hand and feet are peeled and the exposed flesh are mangled. A crier stands and lists all the crimes the nun and the two others havemitted. I don’t bother listening as things do not make sense. There’s no notification of either the Masque or the Changeling being ousted. Then the burning started. The two men screamed while the nun stayed silent. As if content, her misery will end soon.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Oh shit! Still no notification. She’s innocent wasn’t she? Then why does the ne respond? With the three dead, there are only two more nuns present at the time. Then either the ne responds to one of those two or someone else inside the buildings. Hopefully the former. I nce around to the gathered crowd. No nuns of Shallya are present.


    <span style="font-weight:400">The mes are out an hourter. I turned towards Kostner who was visibly frowning.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Hey uh, what happens to the other two nuns that-”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Case closed Gehrman. Your effort is no longer needed.” He shuts down, the frown stays on his face, and immediately leaves. The crowds start dispersing too.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“What are your opinions on this?” I asked Taal and Rhya. “Of the nun I mean, is she really a cultist in your experience?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“No. Just has plenty of men’s smell on her.” Input Taal.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Torture usually doesn’t work on them. At least it will not break them as fast as her.” Rhya gives more useful information.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Why, what’s wrong?” she then asks.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Can I ask for your help? I think we got the wrong person here.” Both looked at each other. As if telepathically speaking with each other.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“What do you have in mind?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“There are two other nuns present during the scene. It could be one of the two, if not them then I don’t know anymore.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Very well then. We have promised to help. If this burning does not resolve this I don’t see a reason we will stop helping.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Oh, thank god.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“You’re wee.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">I turned and led the two to the temple district.


    <span style="font-weight:400">And another one followed them in shadows


    <span style="font-weight:400">____


    <span style="font-weight:400">We found the chapel dedicated to Shallya easy enough. As plenty of the nuns are outside in the front yard. Audible screams can be heard from the inside. Some of the nuns visibly recognize me.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Oh hey, it''s you.” One of them greets me with a tired voice.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“What happened there?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Lin’s having another of her episodes. She keeps screaming about making a mistake or something.” Seems like I am correct.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“It''s good that all of you are outside already. Now I want all of you to leave the ce and call the guards.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Wha-why? Is there a problem?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Yes.” She looked up to me confused but decided to trust me and leave along with the rest of the nuns.


    <span style="font-weight:400">I nod towards Rhya and Taal as we enter the chapel. We split up. I find the two nuns while Taal and Rhya escort the rest of the people inside the chapel outside. I followed the screams that led me to a room. I wait for Taal and Rhya to finish clearing up the ce. As both escorted out thest group of people and made some distance, the ne is still shaking. When both were done, I entered the room. There I saw the one who screamed the daemon inside the building visibly shaking while the other one was trying to calm the other like back then.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“We have some problem, both of you need to go outside”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“What’s going on?” I ignored the question and opened the door wide.


    <span style="font-weight:400">However the hysterical one eyes open wide seeing my ne in some kind of recognition. Taking the risk, I punched at her as fast as possible. But like a blur she evaded and broke through the window to get outside. Carrying the other nun outside to the yard.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Shit!” I yelled as I followed them outside through the window. Rhya and Taal followed behind me. The Masque undo her disguise as she takes the other nun hostage. Her skin turned pale purple. Needle-like fangs fill her mouth and horn grows on her forehead. Her nun robe turned into the usual exotic dress Daemtes wear. A wand of mask on the right hand while the left arm turned into one big jagged w poised on the hostage’s throat.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“IT WASN’T SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THIS! THIS IS MY CHANCE FOR PENANCE! I CAN’T FAIL MY GODDESS AGAIN!” She screamed over and over. Getting more and more hysterical. Guess anesh really traumatized the Masque for her to be this hysterical.


    <span style="font-weight:400">We spread out, Rhya with her bow on the left, Taal with his spear on the right, and me with nothing in the middle. Should I risk suspicion and pull out my soulbound weapons?


    <span style="font-weight:400">Rhya can’t get a clear shot as the Masque’s body can’t keep still. Her hooved legs twitch and kicking and her body sways back and forth in a strange rhythm.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“No-no. I HAven’t faiLED the GAME yet! I can KIll all of you, put ANother disguise and—


    <i><span style="font-weight:400">BANG!</i>


    <span style="font-weight:400">A sudden shot hit the Masque at the back of her head. As the Masque’s head lurched forward, I was surprised to see Kostner. Smoke billows from his repeater pistol barrel. I pulled the nun away from the w as the Masque tried to bnce herself. Not dead from being shot at the head. But now with a clear shot, Rhya shoots an arrow while Taal throws his wooden spear at the same time. The Masque evades the arrow but the spear grazes her nk as her body bends and twists in unnatural manner. Another shot from Kostnernds at her thigh. Slowing her down enough for Taal, already in his chimeric beast form to savage her to death.


    <span style="font-weight:400">I guess I did not need to do anything.