ã€ŠPhoenix Ashesã€‹


 C0

    I groggily woke up still feeling the little remnants of the liquor I drank last night. The chalky aftertaste of the cheap whiskey was very thick, and unpleasant. I rolled over on my bed, and planted my feet on the ground while holding my head to get my thoughts straight. After a few minutes I looked over at the pair of swords that rested against the wall, and the sheath marred by magick. Nearby was a full suit of plate armor sitting on an armor rack, and it still held the new armor sheen as it was recently bought after the last hunt of a rogue medusa. I looked over at the bottles of cheap whiskey that lay empty, and the misery that resulted in them being empty sprang forth.

    I remember the guttural scream from the young female mage that was in our party during the last mission hunting a rogue medusa. I was rounding a corner when one of the other members of our close combat squad slammed into me, pinning me against the wall. I could feel him getting heavier as the blood around his neck was thick and grey as he was slowly turning to stone. My legs were pinned under him, and I looked up to see her. Miriam being held up in the air with a snake coiled around her neck choking her, but barely on the cusp to asphyxiate her. Her clothes torn up exposing her bare skin, and under garments. Lacerations littered her body as if she was pelted by stones, and I looked a bit behind her to see the shattered remains of another member of our squad smashed to pieces with pieces flung out towards the cave wall with his what was left of his head leaning against a small crater on the wall. Her staff laid on the ground ground up from being slithered over by the young medusa. The young girl looking no older than a teen, minus the lower portion of her body, had her claws dug into Miriam¡¯s chest, and using her ribs and sternum as support. Each time Miriam heaved a breath, blood spurted out and it mostly ran down her body or the arm of the medusa. Miriam¡¯s left arm was petrified with her everything below the elbow hacked off in a vain attempt to remove the poison. A fountain of blood that was petrified in midair from the stub of the arm showed that, and the other arm had the other sword embedded halfway before it stopped. The arm just hug slightly split open with the grey stone still showing the different layers of skin, fat, muscle, blood, bone, and bone marrow color as the sword was attached as it was being removed. Mirian¡¯s body started to darken as the petrification was slowly taking hold like it was a sick game, and her screams let out a more grating sound. The medusa licked her lips as she ran her free hand over Miriam¡¯s stomach as if waiting for the meal to be ready, and where it would be the best place to start eating. Miriam¡¯s eyes cracked red like fissures as the blood vessels raced to the surface as it wasn¡¯t able to squeeze out of the socket due to them becoming harder. The blood vessels started to turn a blood grey color as the petrification slowly wormed its way through, and Miriam somehow strained to look over in my general direction. Miriam struggled to raise her right arm even an inch, and it showed on her face as it was contorting in pain. Tears of blood started to run down her face as they escaped from the tear duct and cornea of her eyes. More blood started to run down from her ears, nose, and her now stiff pale gray lips. I think Miriam tried to say something as her face twitched, but her mouth was practically sealed except for the small gap that allowed blood to flow through. A loud popping and cracking sound, like a rock being torn apart, filled the cave as Miriam¡¯s neck snapped, and her head slowly separated from the calcified skin in small incremental cracks till it rolled off to hit the ground. The impact was more like a marble statue slamming into the ground then a watermelon splatter as she still seemed to have actual skin on her head. Her soft brunette hair fluttered a bit in the air before crumbling to dust, and what little fluids were left seeped out of the pile of dust and rock.

    A loud bell ringing broke me out of that trance, and I snapped back over to the window to see that the sun had crested the wall. I shook that bit of nausea off, and stood up to head over to the bowl of water on the dresser. I splashed some water on my face, and I looked up at the mirror. A slight stubble was forming, but my eyes did have soft dark circles due to the nightmares caused by the medusa. However those will eventually fade for the typical nightmare that pervades my thought; that of the witch that slaughtered my village. With little mercy cut down everyone, and scouring the remains of the village looking for possible survivors. Just looking at the back circles under my eyes made my head heavy, and I blinked to be staring at a large wooden door. I was pinned under a bookshelf that tore out the floor under me, and there was a small crack that I could look out. I could see my parents hiding behind a large sofa with weapons in their hands; my mother with a rifle in hand, and my father holding our family sword against his hip. A soft tap of feet echoed throughout the house as the assailant that tore through the village slowly walked to the room, and the door exploded into fragments. I saw a piece of the door just barely above my head impaled through the door, and a cold sweat dripped down my face. The witch wearing a white wooden mask with one eye upright like it was happy, and the other a small slit. The lips on it seemed attached to her face as it moved subtly with her breathing, and just as she rounded the corner. My father lunged forwards, and pulled the sword out of his sheath. However the witch stopped him in mid swing like it was nothing. My mother not wasting a breath let loose a few ball bearing shots with a cloud of smoke with the pull of the trigger. The witch however unfazed used my father a shield, and his body shuddered with each thud of lead tearing into his backside. The witch twisted my father¡¯s arm out of socket, and ran down my mother using father as a ramming object. The witch during all of that impaled my father, and consequently my mother as well to the wall. The witch picked up the rifle, and cracked it open to check for how many rounds were left before pinning it against my father¡¯s throat hard forcing him to pinning my mother to look out at an awkward angle. The witch pulled the trigger, and the loud thunder of gunfire echoed throughout the room. The witch seeming satisfied turned away as my father and mother slumped over with a large gaping hole in their necks. The witch turned over to the sofa, and picked it up to slam it against the torso of my parents over and over till it was hard to tell if the splattered mess was even human to begin with. The witch walked over to the support column, and tore it free. As she left the building, the entire frame started to come down. I could feel the ground beneath my chest disappeared, and I felt myself being sucked into the void. I stretched out my hand to the fading ball of light, and just then the light turned to be a gaping hole in my mother¡¯s throat. The witch was behind my mother holding her head with that unmoving grin on her face, and with ease slowly dug her fingers to my mother¡¯s skull crushing it with ease or so I thought as the sound of gunfire soon ripped out my mother¡¯s mouth.

    A loud knocking at the door broke me out of my trance, and the person on the other side said ¡°Lin. Are you awake?"

    "Yes" I replied with my voice cracking. I could feel the wood on the dresser splinter as I eased my grip.

    "I''m fine. Just give me a minute, Adrian" I stated.

    "Okay. Tell me when you are ready. Hopefully you are in good condition for the witch hunts" Adrian said.

    I sat back down on the bed wiping the cold sweat from my brow, and called Adrian into the room. The young girl opened the door with a click as the lock opened. Her long flowing blonde hair with soft blue eyes that gave away her experience, yet the soft round face showed off her youth. She wore the standard long white robe from the hospital that reached down to her ankles with a light blue undershirt to prevent any possible peeps. She walked over to me in calculated steps with a small medical bag in her right hand. The only person I would even let my guard down around was Adrian. She placed her soft hands on my toned arms, and gently ran them over every groove. Not taking her eyes off the task even for a second, and only stopping periodically to take small notes. She examined all over my torso without a second thought, but when I raised my arm to scratch my head. She pinned me down to the bed pressing the dagger she usually kept down her sleeves against my throat.

    "Oh sorry. Reflex" Adrian said without removing the dagger. "Well this position helps."

    Adrian reached back to pull out a mirror on a stick with a small thin piece of metal. I opened my mouth as she stuck them both in my mouth without removing the dagger. She deftly moved the tools about with just four fingers, and just as quickly removed them. She tossed them on the bed to pull each one of my eyes open, and examined them.

    "Minus the excessive whiskey consumption of late. You could do with exercising a bit more often along with more companionship. These night terrors coming from your past aren''t that good. I know you are trying to get the witch, but we both know she hasn''t been seen in forty years. Stop trying to chase after that fairy tail, and look forward to the rest of your meager life¡± Adrian declared without bothering to ease up off of me.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do what I want¡± I said.

    ¡°You are more than likely won¡¯t see Mad Clown again. I don¡¯t need to bury any other person chasing that witch¡± Adrian stated as she got off of me.

    ¡°You actually knew her code?¡± I said as I sat up.

    ¡°Of course. I was working for the guild, and Mad Clown was my last assignment before I resigned. Banished never did pick up her rewards, but I can¡¯t give it to her without proof. Not like Banished ever tried to turn in any missions given to her¡± Adrian said as she replaced her gloves.

    ¡°Where is this?¡± I started to say.

    ¡°You are on a mission to kill her, along with ninety-nine other anti-mage members. At least ninety-nine others are expected to join, but it could be more considering the bounty¡± Adrian stated after she interrupted me.

    Adrian pulled out the mission forums from her bag, and handed them over to me. I did a quick cursory glance over the details of the paper. My eyes were drawn really quick to the bottom of the page that read the gold reward of the bounty was closer to nearly ten thousand gold pieces. Which was enough to live 10 lifetimes over with ease, and not worry about anything.

    ¡°This can¡¯t be right¡± I stated as I did a double take on the information. ¡°I have never heard of a bounty going this high, much less being sponsored by the state and magus college¡± I stated in disbelief.

    ¡°It is correct. You probably have noticed Banished has been a bounty for the past five years, but they have always been a small pittance. So not many bat an eye to it except the ones who are just starting off¡± Adrian replied.

    ¡°I mean this is a named. She should have been a higher caliber target before this¡± I said.

    ¡°Yes, but this is her 60th year. The magus college was the one dictating her bounty before, but since it is the final year for her. This is where the magus college is going all out¡± Adrian replied.

    ¡°Now if you will excuse me. I have to get going. I expect to see you at the guild hall to finalize the paperwork¡± Adrian stated coldly before walking out of the room.

    I could feel a cold drip of sweat that ran down my face after the door shut, and I put the paper off to the side. I stood up slowly, and walked over to the dresser to get a cotton shirt on first. The sense of foreboding still lingered as I slowly donned each piece of plate armor, and strapped the two swords to my waist. I walked back to the bed to pick up the forums, and headed to the door. I looked back at the room I was renting from the guild as if it was the last time I would see it, and slowly shut the door. I placed the key into the lock, and locked the door before pocketing the key. I slowly walked down the wooden corridor where the floor creaked with each step, but that was the only sound as everyone was either gone or still asleep. The clerk at the counter wasn¡¯t around as she probably was in the back preparing for lunch with the other members of the cooking crew. I folded up the forum, and shoved it into my breastplate to prevent it from being blown away or stolen on my way to the hall. A small bell rang as I opened the door to the rental house, and I walked outside. A slight bit of dew was still clinging to spots not touched by the sun yet, and the birds were singing happily before they took off. It was a bit nippy as the autumn weather was starting to set in, but also it was nearing the one week monsoon that would flood the lands. I turned on my heels to the right to walk to the center of town where one of the guild halls were located, and the sound of children laughing and playing filled the air. A few other adventurers were also walking towards the guild hall, but they seemed rather green as they chatted with one another rather loudly and boasted about scoring a large bounty. Probably just graduated from the academy at a high standing, and feeling rather cocky about themselves. A few people drove by on carriages towards the middle ring for materials or groceries, but no one was riding one towards the inner ring of inner rings where the guild hall was. Soon the massive guild hall came to view as it was all interconnected with sky bridges for people to walk throughout the building without needing to leave. There was a small park in the dead center that had a fountain in the middle for people taking a break. The loud clamor of other adventurers and mercenaries could be heard from the building on the opposite side that I entered from as that was where all the bounties were posted, and it was the largest open space area as well to have all the people fit in for this yearly event. However this year it was a bit more packed than usual as people were spilling out of the hall. A dozen more guild clerks were running around trying to keep everything organized, and keep at least a walkway available for people to walk in.

    ¡°Wow. This is more than usual¡± I said a bit surprised before letting out a sigh.

    ¡°Lin over here¡± I heard, and I looked up to see Erik sitting down on a bench near the mead hall, and waving his hand. His red hair already made him stand out, so I walked over to where he was sitting. I sat across from him, and a waiter came out with a mug of ale for Erik.

    ¡°I¡¯m still working off a hangover, so if you can. Some tea will be fine¡± I said to the waiter, and he bowed before returning back inside.

    ¡°That last mission two weeks ago still has you messed up¡± Erik stated as he raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°A bit. Though it is a bit more of an old scar of mine¡± I replied, letting out a soft sigh.

    ¡°Crazy today. The bounties aren¡¯t even up for the taking, yet there are so many people here. I think it is due to the rumor that a massive bounty has been placed on a named, and the amount is worth a lifetime. It spread fast among circles, and it seemed to even reach the ears of people from Kaori¡± Erik stated.

    ¡°So we might get even more?¡± I said as I looked over a bit surprised.

    ¡°Yes. They are even going crazy with identity verification before the mission starts as well I hear as a large body count is expected¡± Erik continued looking down sighing.

    ¡°If this bounty is this much trouble. I rather stick with an easier one. My daughter is just starting to walk, and I want to be around to see her at least get old enough to get married¡± Erik sighed as he looked down at the ground.

    ¡°I know I am probably making a mistake for passing up the bounty, but I¡¯m not getting any younger. My wife and I are looking to move up to the north district, and maybe have a second child, hopefully a boy¡± Erik continued.

    ¡°Look at you finally growing a pair. Guess your wife laid it into you after the mission two weeks ago¡± I joked.

    ¡°You know it. If my arm wasn¡¯t numb from the petrification recovery, I¡¯d probably wouldn¡¯t be here today as my arm is still covered in bruises from her smacking the hell out of it¡± Erik replied with a smile.

    ¡°You mirch tea with some ammo. Good for a hangover¡± The waiter said as he brought out a teapot, and a tea cup with some tea in the cup.

    ¡°Thank you¡± I replied as I took a sip of the slightly sweetened tea. The waiter bowed before walking back inside.

    ¡°You could have sent your wife after me. I am the one who pushed on that mission¡± I said with a smile.

    ¡°I did forget to mention that, so if she is still mad after the next mission. I¡¯ll tell her that the medusa mission was your fault¡± Erik said with a smile.

    ¡°I wonder if Abigail will be here. She always oversleeps, so hopefully she doesn¡¯t miss on the bounty window¡± Erik said as she scanned the crowd that was still standing around the main hall.

    ¡°There she is¡± I said pointing towards the south entrance as she was running, and her looks were completely disheveled. She looked at the main hall, and collapsed to the ground in tears.

    I heard the scrape of a chair as Erik stood up, and let out an annoyed sigh as he slowly strode over to Abigail. He kneeled down to help her up, and walked her over to where we were sitting. I poured my next cup of tea as Abigail sat down, and she started to calm down.

    ¡°Why is it so busy?¡± Abigail complained as she started to clean up her looks a bit.

    ¡°Just a rumor that a massive bounty over a named today. I¡¯m sure it is exaggerated¡± I replied.

    ¡°I mean this is the annual witch hunt, but I never heard of a graduating witch being a named¡± Abigail said as she tilted her head trying to think.

    ¡°Exactly. Which is why I think it is just a mere rumor to get people excited¡± I said, lying as I had the forum under my breastplate. I wasn''t too confident in them even though they were from Adrian.

    ¡°What would you like Abigail?¡± The waiter asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll just take a light ale John¡± Abigail replied.

    ¡°Sure¡± John replied before walking away.

    ¡°Okay. I guess I got up early today for no good reason¡± Abigail said as she slumped onto the table, and let out a sigh.

    ¡°You ran all the way up here like you usually do when the bounties window is nearly closed. Did something excite you?¡± Erik asked.

    ¡°I guess I couldn¡¯t sleep. I saw a new dress in my usual store that I want, and I should be able to afford it after this mission¡± Abigail said all chipper. I smiled as she probably was wandering the merchant district for the past few days looking over the items for sale. She loved looking at dresses around the time for the banquet balls that occurs shortly after the monsoon rains, and massive festivals. Abigail always wanted to stay up to date on the current fashion trends, so it wasn¡¯t rare that she would be mentioned in some form of newspaper.

    ¡°I saw this cute dress that was a mix of our standard ball gown, but mixed with the eastern elegant flow style of Kioko¡± Abigail said all excited.

    ¡°That sounds nice. I¡¯m sure that will cost a good bit¡± Erik teased with his usual joking smile.

    ¡°Oh knock it off. You have no sense of fashion¡± Abigail replied as she lightly tapped Erik¡¯s right arm.

    John returned with the ale for Abigail and Erik, and he quickly returned to the tavern to deal with other clients along his way to the kitchen again.

    ¡°So when do you think the bell will ring?¡± Abigail asked, looking at the still gathering crowd, and the panicked guild clerks still running around with paper and signs trying to direct the chaos.

    A rather large convoy wagon rolled into the parking circle that had markings from Kaori, and soon stepped out four dozen soldiers. Their dead serious look on their face deadened the atmosphere as they marched in near unison towards the guild hall. Everyone slowly stepped off to the side as they soon recognized the emblem around the collar and the flowing capes. This was an actual part of the Kaori army, and a member of the elite faction within it; they were known as Blood Moon. They were typically dispatched at night, and are known to litter the battlefields with corpses and blood that runs up to the ankle before the sun even rises. A well known battle they fought in a single night was against a small group of soldiers that outnumbered them ten to one, but still came out without any casualties.

    One soldier broke rank as they neared the guild hall, and the other soldiers stayed back all tense. ¡°Is this where the bounties are filled out? Bring them out¡± The soldier growled, and it sent shivers down everyone¡¯s spine.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we haven¡¯t opened registration yet for any bounties. They are opening soon¡± Dorian, a guild clerk who has been around for ages, replied almost unfazed by the soldier.

    ¡°I demand them to be brought out now. I want to know if the one you call Banished is in that list¡± The soldier demanded in an even deeper growl that seemed to reverberate the air.

    ¡°Well Banished has been a bounty for years now, so more than likely she will be¡± Dorian said.

    A loud cheer from the soldiers of Blood Moon roared upon hearing that that unsettled everyone in the guild hall. ¡°Revenge against Azure Rose is upon us¡± The leader shouted, and more cheers from the soldiers were let out. That seemed to satisfy the soldiers, and they turned away from the hall.

    ¡°Who is Azure Rose?¡± ¡°Why are they so happy about that small bounty?¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°What is the connection between Banished and Azure Rose¡± Small talks broke out amongst the other mercenaries and adventurers after Blood Moon returned back to their carriages to wait for the bounties to open up.

    ¡°I never thought I would hear the name Azure Rose again¡± Abigail nervously said as she shivered, and rubbed her arms together.

    ¡°You know who she is?¡± I asked.

    ¡°No, but I have heard the tales from history. She was once a legendary commander in Kaori that was stated to be undefeated in official battles, and littered so many fields with corpses that only azure roses were available. Azure Rose''s other nickname is Crimson Rose. Rumors that battlefields that she walked on grew bright red roses that drank off the bodies and corpses of the soldiers that fell there, and that picking one would melt the rose back to blood¡± Abigail nervously stated growing even more as she talked.

    I could feel cold sweat run down my back, and an unsettling sense of foreboding washed over me.

    ¡°You seem rather pale Abigail¡± Erik said nervously, and Abigail abruptly stood up to run around the side of the building to start throwing up.

    "That isn''t a good sign" Erik nervously said as he put down his ale. He barely even drank any, and seemed to have lost interest. Abigail returned looking worse forwear, and laid out on the table not even finishing the last half of her ale.

    "I hope today is the last I hear of Azure Rose" Abigail declared.

    "Do all members of the magus get that sick?" Erik asked.

    "I''m more on the mild side. It is literally ground into us to react to that mention as a means of safety" Abigail replied.

    "I am going to get some bread and venison. Want enough for you as well?" Erik said as he stood up.

    "Just some extra bread" Abigail replied groggily.

    "Sure" Erik said before he walked inside.

    I continued to drink the tea while watching small sparrows flitter about in the park. Time seemed to crawl waiting for the guild bell, but it wasn''t bad. Erik eventually returned with a plate of venison and rye bread. Erik grabbed a slice, and a few slivers of venison before eating. Abigail grabbed a slice, but only nibbled on it as she didn''t want to throw up again. Another dozen guild clerks showed up to help already an overburdened staff. The bell for mid-day rang, and adventurers and mercenaries outside the hall stood up to get in place. The leader of Blood Moon left the group to walk in line with the other mercenaries, but it was obvious they were nervous. People slowly evacuated the building before close to three dozen guild members shortly followed right behind.

    "This is different. I guess too many people" Erik said nervously.

    "Alright. I know this is different than usual, but the amount of people here would make this take the next two days worth at a normal rate. As you know the magus college doesn''t pay for wasted time, so I will start this off. Those that heard the rumor, and are interested in taking that bounty. Stepped off to the size towards Blood Moon carriage" The guild leader shouted from a podium near the fountain. Almost half split from the giant mass of people, and nervously walked over to Blood Moon.

    "We shall deal with them last as I might persuade most from taking these other bounties. The targets of this year''s graduation are Silver Air, Library, Pyramid, and Blue Lightning. I know this year''s list is smaller than the last, and that is due to the fact of the rumor. Plus each target is a named" The guild leader continued to shout.

    "The bounty for Silver Air is sitting at five hundred gold. Library is sitting at three hundred. Pyramid is sitting at one hundred and eighty. Finally Blue Lightning is sitting at one hundred and twenty-five. The magus college is offering a stipend for this year only for those that aren''t taking any bounties up to one hundred gold pieces for a full family. If you aren''t a full family it is still sixity gold pieces. I''m laying down all options before we address the rumor in its entirety, and finalize those that want to hear the answer before making the decision. I will give everyone a good half hour before we reconvene" the guild master continued before one of the clerks pulled out a sand clock, and set it on the table for it to start the timer.

    "The magus college is really going out this year. It almost screams of desperation" Erik said nervously.

    "I''m taking that stipend. That is more than enough for six years if correctly budgeted" Abigail said lazily.

    "My wife would kill me all over again if I died this named, so I''m out as well. I could have used some of that extra money" Erik said, a bit disappointed.

    "How about you?" Abigail asked.

    "I would like to take that stipend, or that Silver Air mission" I said before I let out a defeated sigh.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    "But you can''t. Can you?" Adrian said from behind me.

    "If I pay you to tell me who signed me up. How much?" I coldly replied.

    "No need. I''m sure the client will tell you when you arrive" Adrian said slyly.

    "If you make it back. Let''s throw a celebration" Erik cheerfully said trying to mask the sadness in his voice.

    "Probably on me" I jabbed back.

    "I''m sorry I wasn''t able to be closer to you" Abigail said in a solemn tone.

    "Why does this sound like I''m being sent to the guillotine?" I said nervously.

    "Who knows the reality from the myth" Adrian said before she slipped away.

    "I never fully agreed to it" I shouted.

    "It isn''t your choice" Adrian shouted back before disappearing into the massive crowd.

    I looked over at the sand clock slow chip away in silence, and after what felt like an eternity did it run dry. The guild master stood back upon the podium with a bundle of paper under his right arm, and the crowd quieted down to a dead silence.

    "All those that aren''t having any thoughts on the rumored mission please enter the guild hall in an orderly manner" the guild leader shouted, and about a fifth of the people that weren''t on the Blood Moon side walked into the hall. Erik and Abigail stood up, and waved as they headed into the hall.

    "Alright. Let''s get this debriefing under way" The guild leader shouted in a solemn tone.

    "The target is named by the code Banished. She has been a thorn to the magus college recently, so for the past five years the college put out a small bounty for her head. However most of you know that none have returned, and if we are lucky a few bits of the body are recovered. However the bits aren''t identifiable, so right now the tallied death toll is closer to fifty mercenaries and thirty green adventurers. Today we received information from the magus college that Banished has been a thorn for much longer to the college, and even before she joined the college as well. Her name is Kaori was Azure Rose, or as others like those in Blood Moon know her as Crimson Rose. The true death toll isn''t measurable" The guild leader explained.

    "The bounty for Banished is ten thousand gold pieces in Elewyr currency, and it will concert to the correct amount in Kaorian. That amount will be given each person that makes it back after she is killed. This is sponsored by both the magus college, and the lord of Elewyr" the guild leader continued after a short sip of water.

    "We will be running a more detailed identification form, along with a will. As this type of mission will be expecting a high number of casualties. We plan for you all to be out of here by the time the sun sets behind the wall, so could all those still interested in this mission line up in front of one of the guild clerks that are currently standing out here¡± The guild leader shouted. With that close to a third of the people that were interested in the mission grew cold feet, and slowly walked over to the guild hall to either sign up for one of the other missions or to take that stipend. I sighed as I gave up knowing that even if I tried to escape that Abigail would chase me down, and drag me along the back of the caravan on the ground.

    I stood up, and slowly walked over to the line where Adrian was quickly handing out the forums and writing utensils. The line quickly faded as people left just to quickly fill out paperwork before heading to the examination building for the identifications that they cannot complete. Adrian just handed me some writing utensils after I pulled out the forums from under my breast plate, and I went back to the table that I was sitting earlier. I separated the multiple sheets of paper to see that most of them were forms for the identification to fill out before and after the exams. Most of the questions were of corpse identification in case of eye gouging, getting eaten by a large beast, my head getting crushed that dental records would be invaild, my adventurer or mercenary tag getting destroyed, and/or a combination of the above occurs.

    I sighed again after filling out the insane amount of information needed as they really weren¡¯t sure the state that would be left. I picked up the papers, and handed Adrian the writing utensils before I headed over to the crowded examination building. Even with how crowded the building was, it was going smoothly, and soon my name was called. I followed a young looking nurse who was wearing wooden clogs shoes, and it gave a solid thudding click against the wooden floor with each step. Her attire was an unusual one being one of the eastern country attire for religion compared to the other nurses that wore the typical required full body one piece with under clothes. I sat down in the only chair in the room, and the nurse brought over a magnifying glass with a camera attached for photographs. She opened my right eye to do a visual check for any possible visible anomaly present that might make it hard to do the exam, and after jotting down all possible information that can fit in the box. She held my eye open with two metal tongs, and pushed the camera up close to my eye to quickly take half a dozen pictures at different angles. I heard a printer nearby quickly printing out sheets, and so she removed the camera and tongs from my right eye. She let me rest as she walked over to the recently printed pictures, and examined them before writing a lot more information in the next box for after examination. She grabbed a paper clip to attach the pictures to the forums before doing the exact same set of procedures on my left eye. Once it was all done she came around behind me, and pulled the chair back to have me rest at an angle. She came over with a cold wet rag, and a container of eye drops to put into my eye before placing the rag over my eyes. She opened my mouth to do a preliminary exam on the state of my mouth, and I could hear the sound of metal tools being moved about. I soon felt cold steel in my mouth as she was probably using a magnifying glass on a stick like Adrian was earlier, but I couldn¡¯t complain that I already did this procedure as this was necessary for me to be on this mission. I felt a soft gelatinous material enter my mouth, and soft, delicate fingers that were surprisingly not gloved reach in to mold the gelatinous material to my teeth. She shut my mouth shut, and held it close for what felt close to a minute before reopening it to pull out the mold. I heard the sound of a metal case closing, and the clasps locking before the sound of running water was heard. The fast scribble of pen to paper of both sets of paperwork filled my ears, and soon the rag was removed from my eyes. I blinked a bit at the sudden brightness, and my chair was pushed back to the upright position.

    ¡°Are you afraid of needles Lin?¡± The nurse said in a soft voice without reappearing in front of me.

    ¡°No¡± I said.

    ¡°Okay. Do you have a preference?¡± She asked.

    ¡°No¡± I replied.

    ¡°Okay¡± She said as she wrapped a bandage around the upper part of my left arm tightly to increase the blood pressure in it, and deftly stuck a needle in my arm at my elbow. I didn¡¯t even feel it prick as it went in smoothly, and she placed a glass vial on the other side of the needle before turning a dial for it to start drawing blood. She did that for 3 vials, and like before removed the needle without a sense of pain like it wasn¡¯t even there. She grabbed a cotton swab, and bound it to the spot where the needle was as some blood did pool at the surface through the hole in my skin.

    ¡°That should be all of the identification requirements. She you are free to go¡± She said as she was writing down the last bit of information on the papers, and transferred some slips to the glass. ¡°Just write your name on these, and sign it to verify that it was drawn.¡±

    I walked over to sign my name, and print my name on the little slips on the glass vials. Once the nurse nodded as she seemed rather satisfied, and quickly placed the vials into another case that was locked with clasps and a keyed lock that had a specific key that placed into a hidden slot that was also locked with the keyhole covered unless you knew where to look. I walked away from the nurse, and headed back to the front just to wait for her to bring the forums back up to get the papers ready for the dog tags to be released from the main building. I know new ones needed to be engraved, so there was a separate set of papers needed for that. She soon came up to the front after dropping off the two cases somewhere in the back, and quickly filled out the paper for me to have my tag released. I took that paper, and quickly headed over to the main building to bypass the lines to get my tag. It was a silver tag that had my name engraved on it, and it held a second tag that noted the town it originated from. Abigail and Erik waited for me by the entrance, and they both looked ready to cry.

    ¡°Come on. We had a good fifteen years together. You know it will be a bit harder to take me down than most of these other guys¡± I said looking back.

    ¡°I know, but this isn''t a normal quest. I overheard the bounty, so please try to be careful¡± Abigail said in a seldom tone as she held my hands.

    ¡°I will do my best to be careful. I won¡¯t let this wind up like that witch mission we hunted two years ago¡± I said.

    ¡°How much time do you have before you go?¡± Erik asked.

    ¡°You know I don¡¯t drink before a mission, Erik¡± I replied sternly.

    Erik and Abigail just looked at one another before walking up to me, and gave me a tight embrace. We broke, and I headed over to the gathering caravans of horse drawn carriages. I looked back at Abigail leaning on Erik''s shoulder crying, and it started to get too painful for me to keep seeing this scene. I turned away from this typical scene when I go on missions solo, and headed into a wagon that was designated for the silver rank members. I found a spot in the middle of the wagon, and sat there just waiting. I rested my head against the canvas cover, and looked at the few people within the wagon. Most seemed rather inexperienced with hunting witches, so they probably only joined for the money. I chalked them up to be used as fodder, or a shield if it came down to it. I overheard a need to prepare at least three hundred body bags, and a formal notice to Kaori for the elimination of Blood Moon. Most of the chatter was boring, so I shut my eyes to take a nap.

    I woke up some time later to notice the wagon was mostly full, yet it still seemed rather empty. I looked through the gap in the canvas that was a bit wider as the wind was blowing up, and saw that the ground we were running through was barely used as grasses were blurring by. The wagon bounced a bit as it seemed to have run over a rock, and my guess was actually moving at a good pace. We started to slow to a crawl, and soon what seemed to be a relay station came up. The click of reins being released, and reset back on what I guess were new horses. We didn¡¯t stop for long as we were off again as if trying to beat the clock, and the outside light grew spotty at best as the trees that I could see were growing thicker. There was no way to tell time, and after some time a person from the front of the wagon came into the back carrying a lantern waking anyone that seemed to be asleep. That was the signal that we were getting close to the target, so I unhooked my helmet from my belt. I unrolled the chainmail at my neck, and lifted my hood over my head before placing my helmet on. I shifted the helmet around to let it sit in a good spot, and once it felt good made sure my chainmail was covering the open spaces. The person walking around stopped at the divider, and was carrying a few items. I noticed my shield I had put in repair was among the group, and it was brought over to me. The person handed out the other items before walking back to the front, and I gave a quick glance over to the shield. It felt a bit heavier than my previous one, but I chalked it up to it being reforged and not broken into. The sound of branches crunching under the hooves of horses started to fill the air as we started to slow down, and soon the whining of wheels slowly grinding to a halt. I led the group out of the wagon as everyone else had never been on a conoy run mission, and I stood among everyone else from the other wagon. Everyone stretched about after being in the wagon for so long, and I looked up to see the waning crescent moon in patches when the wind blew some gaps in the trees above.

    The leaves here didn¡¯t seem to want to fall, and still oddly seemed green like it wasn¡¯t even nearing winter. I looked around to see people looking around confused as well, and it even felt more like mid-spring weather as well. A few even seemed more nervous as this entirely felt out of the ordinary, and I wanted to bail as well. However I knew why I was specifically chosen as I grabbed my left arm that flared up, and felt the air cool down around me a bit now realizing that the air was driven by magick. The range of magick to affect the landscape like this was insane, and immense. I looked over at the trees, and saw there were ventilation holes that were surrounded with scales. I let out a deep breath to calm down, and let the magick flow like usual to reduce suspicion. The holes pulsed at regular intervals as if it was natural, and I started to take in the rest of the environment. Besides the thick canopy above that swallowed most of the main moon and the entirety of the second, the sound of insects and birds were oddly quiet. Almost like our presence scared them away, and it probably was true as I looked around at about three hundred adventurers and mercenaries in the mix, including the Blood Moon company. A few were kneeling on the ground to start tracking with a few standing guard, and it seemed like they had found a trail as they marched as one through the thick woods that was off the slightly more open straight path.

    Blood Moon took the lead, and the rest scattered about following slightly behind them as everyone seemed to agree that the direction towards the deeper part of the forest was the correct spot to go. Everyone was tense as they slowly marched expecting traps, an ambush, or a full army at the ready; however the quietness started to eat away at everyone. A slight scream as someone probably slipped down a slight incline hidden away by the grass, and everyone snapped to attention. I crouched low with my sword in hand, and my shield blocking my blind side while keeping my back to the others in my small group. After a few tense moments chuckling could be heard, and everyone started to ease up. I however couldn¡¯t blame anyone for the recent reactions as this atmosphere has been growing tenser, and it almost could be tasted. I resheathed my sword, and let the atmosphere take hold before continuing to march. The slip did seem to help the mood as everyone wasn¡¯t as jumpy, and a light footed approach started to take hold. I did take note that everyone was starting to get closer, and soon we saw an unusual detail in the forest, a wall of silver light. We slowly approached it, and saw that it was the main moon shining down through a massive clearing in the forest. In the middle stood a single manor, but it looked rather decrepit. The stone walls surrounding it were crumbling, and worn away over time. Moss and vines were overgrown on the parts still upright, and multiple paths lead to the main entrance. The iron gates were toppled over laying on the ground rusting away with rivers of rust running away from the fence, and bleeding into the ground to the side or the haphazardly broken down stone bricked paths. The ground overgrown with grass and weeds, but unsettling they took a crimson look under the moon as if it was recently bathed in blood. The crimson look barely spread past the wall, and even seemed to thin out in tendrils. Pedestals for statues lined one of the paths, but the statues, if found, were laying on the ground shattered into pieces charred black and the larger pieces were cracked as if it was placed under high temperatures. I stayed behind the front as I tried to examine what might have happened here, but nothing plausible came to mind. We slowly encircled the manor for any other possible escape routes, but none showed up. So we slowly entered the complex, and I kneeled down once out of the way on the other side of the wall. I ran my finger against the crimson grass, yet the film was dried and crusty as it flaked off with ease. I felt a shiver, and looked behind me to see that the wall was marred with craters, burn marks, and black tendrils racing all over. Trying not too far behind, I slipped in with the secondary line, and kept looking around. The statues I saw were actually ruptured from within, but there didn¡¯t seem to be any explosion residue. There were the remains of a central fountain charred black, and seemed to be ruptures from the ground as it was cracked with slight warp spots and bulges. Few of the adventures jumped a bit when the stone bricks they were walking on crumbled to ash, and we soon came upon the dilapidated entrance. The large oak doors studded with iron points was cracked, and warped with holes dotting them. We looked down the sides of the house, and saw no windows as they were all shattered with glints of glass on both the outside and inside of the manor. The two lantern holders hung limply, and a slight breeze looked ready to take them off the wall. Snaking across the outside was more black tendrils that seemed to be burned into the wood almost like it was natural.

    "What did we sign up for?" Someone asked nervously. I was sure he was nearly on the verge of collapsing out of sheer fear.

    Someone else got down on their knees, and started to pray. Another broke from the group before collapsing crying out of sheer fear, but no one reprimanded them as it was insanely tense.

    "I''m out. I know I signed up for this to protect my honor, but this is just insane. I would rather deal with the court in Kaori, and be sentenced to the mines than continue" A member of the Blood Moon shouted after he tore off his helmet. Sweat was running down his face, and his eyes were dilated and racing around looking at everything. The helmet in his hand was shaking rather violently that it actually vibrated out of his hands. He would have been dead weight if we dragged him along, so I would have sent him out.

    "Just go back to the caravan. You will get your reprimand there" The commander said after a sigh. "The rest let''s go."

    The soldier picked up their helmet, and walked away in a slow demoralized walk. The commander touched the doors, but the hinges gave way as the doors creaked and whined before the loud popping as the hinges broke free. The doors slammed on to the warped wooden floor, and splintered into a heap. The inside was just as bad as the exterior. The foyer main chandelier collapsed from the ceiling littering the main floor shards of glass, and warped pieces of the bronze frame work spidered out from the impact. The bare walls had little semblance of paint as it was most striped bare to the blackened wood underneath, and the walls were warped and littered with holes. The grand staircase, or what was left of it, looked ready to collapse, and take the floor above with it. We slowly walked forward as the wooden floor underneath us creaked and groaned, and we were nervous as some planks started to pop before breaking to the floor below. Smashed busts littered the floor as well as picture frames that mixed in with the rubble, and linen and paper mesh were yellowing. As we slowly marched through the house we noticed most of the rooms had their ceiling collapsed sending whatever was on the upper floors down. Any heavy furniture from the upper floors were smashed upon impact with the lower floors if they didn''t embed themselves to the floor or go right through. Any linen or clothes that were stored in the dressers or chests were worn down with holes having eaten through them if they weren''t shreds of rags from the impact. The only clean path in the entire house minus the rubble that was pushed off to the side, and the limp later and torch holders. The long hallway branch between two rooms, and half of us walked down the right path. We entered what was a kitchen, but it looked torn apart like someone was searching for something and didn''t care how much damage they were going to cause. Entire shelves of plates, cups, and bowls littered the floor and smashed countertops. The sink was torn out from it''s spot, and embedded into the wall. The other sink seemed to have been slammed multiple times against the wall before it was against the wall cleaving a gap that exposed the room behind it, and then embedded into the ceiling. Crackles of dust slowly trickled down as the sink swung in a slow listless motion as wind probably came into this kitchen for the first time in a while. Someone slammed their fist against the wall, and threw up from the rancid smell that pervaded the room. It wasn''t obvious at first, or even approaching the room; however, standing there for the short period did it creep into our senses. The unmistakable smell of a charred body that was rotting, and I slowly walked into the room to get closer to the source of the smell. Everyone else hung back, and looking around the corner of the island that was the only clean and spotless area in the whole kitchen. There was what I assumed was a deer that had it''s skin charred black with the thinner areas with bubbles of thick white fluid that leaked out of ones that popped. The eye socket was filled with a crimson thick black and white fluid that I didn''t move much as I prodded the deer with a nearby pole. A bit of the liquid did slip out of the socket, but that slowly moved down the face of the deer like molasses. It left a dark stain as it rolled down getting smaller, and enough was in that bead it rolled off the face to splatter against the ground in a mixed sound of something gelatinous and solid. The entrails of the deer were brutally torn out, and thrown about the floor as the abdominal cavity skin wasn''t cleanly cut open. Some of the entrails were squashed or crushed and littered the ground in small little blobs.

    I stood up, and walked back to the group. ¡°What is that smell?¡± An adventurer asked.

    ¡°Just a deer. It has been dead for a while, but it looks to have been lit on fire probably afterwards¡± I replied.

    ¡°Oh¡± The adventurer replied.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see another door here, so let¡¯s go after the other half¡± I said.

    The group nodded in unison as they wanted to get away from the smell, and we quickly booked it out of the room. We continued past the fork in the room to another door which had a small group standing by the door on guard.

    ¡°We are just here to see if you found anything, and to make sure nothing might be following us¡± One of them said, and I noticed the small emblem of Blood Moon on his collar.

    ¡°Just a dead deer in the kitchen, but otherwise nothing important. The kitchen was in absolute shambles¡± I replied.

    ¡°We found a path to the basement past here. There are rooms along the way, but they are so dilapidated that the moon is lighting them up. One even had a tree start to grow in it¡± The leader of the group said before opening the door. ¡°Let¡¯s move.¡±

    We slowly moved down the hallway, and saw that each room was glowing with moonlight. The floor warped, and buckled to create gaps between the boards like waves of water that oddly came up to the door frame and then stopped. We eventually got to the far side of the hallway to the door that led downstairs into the basement, and it was barely lit up with nowhere to hook a torch or lantern. A few lanterns laid on the ground, but no one else was seen. There was a small opening against the wall, and a row of torches ran down it lit up. It screamed a trap, so I turned around to the rest of the group who were looking around the empty wine racks and cask racks. Surprisingly, they were like new as it still had a slight gloss to them from the finish, but the rest of the group was disappointed it was actually empty.

    ¡°There is a small tunnel, it screams a trap. I wonder if the rest went down there¡± I stated.

    ¡°There is nowhere else, so more than likely they went down there. Probably to gain all the glory¡± The member from Blood Moon stated. ¡°Our captains are on a warpath to kill her.¡±

    ¡°Interesting¡± I said without caring. I spun back on my heels, and headed to the entrance of the tunnel. A scream echoed from the other side of the tunnel, and the sound of blood splattering against the ground and maybe walls.

    ¡°Help me¡± A person wheezed as they finally came into view from the bend halfway into the tunnel. A stream of blood was pouring out the stub of his left arm which left a long streak of blood, and he was impaled with 3 spears that were sticking out the front of him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die this young¡± The person said as he finally collapsed to his knees. Tears of blood started to roll down his face before he coughed up blood, and solid pieces hit the ground in a gloppy mess. ¡°I beg of you.¡±

    I walked forward, and the person seemed to become happier as I approached ignoring the reality of the situation. I walked within arms reach, and drew one of my swords in a swift manner to cut his throat. The person finally realized what I did, and soon blood started to trickle out from the cut. I kicked the person over to prevent more blood getting on me as I was already standing in his blood, and I turned around to head back ignoring the gurgling cries as blood was pooling in his throat. It became quiet as I returned as he probably lost consciousness from blood loss, or finally dead.

    ¡°Let¡¯s return. This is a grind fest down there¡± I coldly stated.

    ¡°Normally I beat some sense into you, but for a person to be kept alive for so long with those injuries means the target is skilled. I also call for a retreat¡± The blood moon member said. ¡°Those that want to be another tally can stay here.¡±

    Everyone thankfully agreed to the proposal, and we headed back upstairs. I noticed the door we came through to get down here was oddly closed, so that felt like something was coming up. The Blood Moon member that took the lead tried to open the door, but it wasn¡¯t budging.

    ¡°The hell¡± The Blood Moon member stated in surprise after trying to break the door down with force. ¡°Get me a damn axe.¡±

    Another person handed over a battle axe, and with ease the Blood Moon member cleaved the door in two burying the axe into the stairway. The Blood Moon member kicked down the cleaved door to reveal the path had altered from a pristine path to one of a rotten path with support pillars that had come down to block a bit of the door.

    ¡°The hell is going on here¡± The Blood Moon member said nervously as he walked through the door, and his foot sank into the rotten floor like it was liquid. Mold covered the entire hallway, and it was littered with growing holes. A slight moan bellowed before one of the door frames gave way, and collapsed. The wooden frame splintered into a small cloud of particles before returning back down, and the larger pieces slowly started to sink back into the floor. A high pitch childish laughter could be heard somewhere on the other side of the hallway, but it soon slowly distorted to grow deeper to a cackling old lady.

    ¡°Did anyone else hear that?¡± I asked nervously.

    ¡°What are you talking about? All I heard was the crying of wood as it rots¡± A person replied.

    ¡°Move. Now¡± I shouted as I turned on my heel, and I started to bolt down the stairs. Most of the party followed after me as I seemed to have an idea what was going on.

    The Blood Moon member who passed through the door tried to pull his foot out, but it stayed embedded into the wood. ¡°What is this?¡± He said nervously. Another went back to get his axe back.

    ¡°Forget the damn axe¡± I shouted back as I looked back at the one stuck in the door. I barely got to the bottom of the staircase as what seemed like black tendrils phased through the door and axe. The door warped between pristine and rotting rapidly before it couldn¡¯t handle it, and crumbled to dust that vanished into thin air. The axe let out a high pitched screech before it rapidly expanded, and exploded sending fragments everywhere before disappearing into thin air before hitting any of the walls. The Blood Moon member that was in the doorway let out a scream as his body had worm like marks crawling around under his skin and armor. The armor soon crumbled away as it was rapidly getting coated in rust, and the shriveled husk of a body that was inside wasn''t even a person anymore. It was barely bone with a skin wrapping, and with a slight breeze the boney figure leaned over to crumble apart down the stairs. The other person didn''t scream as much, but it was hard to tell as his voice was all distorted going from high pitch like a child to an old man. There were worm looking tunnels burrowing under his skin and armor, and soon he turned around almost losing his balance. He reached out for help, but his gauntlet fell off revealing an infant''s hand. That didn''t last long as it rapidly aged to an old boney hand with loose skin. A guttural scream escaped his lips as his body quickly bloated, and exploded. His blood spiraled in the air before splashing against the walls and stairs in a tendril pattern like what I saw outside.

    "We have to go down. I don''t know what the next one will come" I shouted, and everyone straightened themselves up to head down at a breakneck speed. I was the last to go as I didn''t want to lose anyone else, but it seemed the fear of that was more than enough reason to book it. I chased after everyone down the long tunnel past the corpse, and it opened up to a large room. Corpses littered the room as the bodies were cut in half or decapitated, but there were numerous amounts of fresh blood stains smeared all over the place.

    "What the hell happened?" I wondered. A few from the group were cowering in a corner out of sheer fear as they lost their nerves, but it was now expected. I could feel my nerves on edge. I guessed the others ran down one of the two tunnels, so I chose the one to my left. It was a massive tunnel that had smaller paths that ran from this, so I had a feeling it was designed like a labyrinth on purpose. I slowly rounded a bend that felt like it would circle back to the entrance, but I didn¡¯t see the same large room. I stumbled into another one with walls covered every square inch with bookshelves that reached up to the ceiling that were all full with books. The shelves were lined up with enough space to walk through with a cart or three, and it stretched deeply. I slowly walked through to noticing there was a rhythm to the madness as there were markers indicating what went on the end caps of the bookshelves and on the books. The books at the entrance were thinner, and they became thicker as I progressed. Towards the back the books were embedded with jewels, and embroidered with as much rare metals to have them stand out. There wasn¡¯t an exit on the other side, so I turned around to head back down the same tunnel. The tunnel looked all the same, but I did notice that there were some markers just barely within sight at a very specific height. I pulled out a journal to start jotting down notes about the marks, and slowly walked back to the library for similar markings. It was along the path to the library to and from that was a small quill like marking engraved into the bedrock, and one that looked like a bed and pot on the way out. I guessed the bed was the sleeping quarters and the pot was the kitchen which was likely closer to the tunnel entrance. I slowly followed down the tunnel following the small pot icon when I stopped as I heard the sound of a blunderbuss going off. Soon one of the offshoot paths did a person run out before rolling, and hiding behind another pillar.

    ¡°God damn elven. CHILL THE FUCK OUT¡± The person shouted.

    ¡°GET BACK OVER HERE BANISHED¡± The person shouted back.

    ¡°She fired so far one hundred and eighty-nine rounds. Uh elves on average with a blunderbuss can fire two hundred without a mana battery or catalyst¡± Banished whispered as she was going over the numbers. Her slightly disheveled silver hair showing difference in her tone, and the situation on going. However her dress was caked in plenty of blood that it was still leaking out of the fabric, but there was no way to tell if you injured her. I looked to see there was a trail of blood drops, but in the far distance the elf wasn¡¯t looking down at that fine detail.

    ¡°Who is there?¡± Banished snapped as I moved a footstep closer to her, and soon a dagger was brandished from her right side.

    ¡°How odd. I didn¡¯t sense another insect¡± Banished stated as she stood up, and her cold, brown eyes filled with murderous intent as she glared as me holding the dagger out.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t sense you. Huh. You might have a use for more than one purpose besides being something I dissect later¡± Banished continued whipping out a wicked smile that had evil intentions written all over it.

    ¡°And before you finish that thought. You won¡¯t be able to kill me as easily as that hydra, or what you call medusa¡± Banished coldly stated as she slowly closed the space between us.

    ¡°I will let you live if you do this simple task. Be my meat shield to take in those elven bullets¡± Banished gently said with a warm smile that didn¡¯t mention what she said prior as she was within arms reach of me. ¡°Deal?¡±

    ¡°Even if I try to kill you afterwards¡± I questioned.

    Banished let out a childish laugh. ¡°You really are planning to work with the enemy.¡±

    ¡°Not like it matters. You were eventually going to get me involved in this mess¡± I said realizing the situation I was in.

    ¡°And a bit smarter too. Nice¡± Banished said.

    ¡°So what should I expect from you if I fail?¡± I asked nervously.

    ¡°I¡¯ll beat you till you are knocking on death¡¯s door. You are worth more alive than dead really¡± Banished coldly declared.

    ¡°There you are Crimson Rose¡± The elf shouted as she took aim, and Banished ran behind me as the elf let loose the volley. I staggered backwards as it impacted me, but otherwise it didn¡¯t feel like that much more than tiny bits of hot metal hitting me. I looked down to see small holes in my armor, but that was about it.

    ¡°Checkmate Ophelia¡± Banished stated as she moved out from behind me, and covered the distance in a blink of the eye to slam a cross against Ophelia¡¯s face. Ophelia¡¯s face distorted from the impact as she was sent airborne, and she bounced a few times as she hit the ground.

    Ophelia got up with a moan as blood was pouring down her face, and she spit out a solid chunk of blood with maybe some bits of her tongue and teeth. ¡°You have gotten better to survive something like that. I guess punching you that many times did toughen you up¡± Banished coldly stated as she slowly walked over to Ophelia.

    "I kid. You wouldn''t have survived something like that without some help. Ain''t that right, John?" Banished said as she caught the great sword being brought down onto her head with ease in one hand.

    ¡°How are the kids doing?¡± Banished asked nonchalantly while John was struggling with all his might.

    ¡°Oh just fine. Damien joined the Blue Wings scouts like the damn coward he is, and Jonathan has been ignoring me ever since you murdered my wife in cold blood. I am lucky if Damien tells me anything either¡± John stated in pure frustration as she threw even more weight onto the sword.

    ¡°We both know you know it was her fault¡± Banished coldly stated as she seemed to get bored.

    ¡°Shut up¡± John said before chains squirmed out of the sword, and wrapped around Banished.

    ¡°Oh this is new magick Audri. Just not my type of playing, but I guess it works for you¡± Banished said before the chains tightened up even more.

    I took a step forward to help Banished, but I felt the cold of steel against my neck even though it was on the outside of the chainmail. I looked over to my right to see there was a person with a Blood Moon emblem on their collar, and I figured it was going to be pointless.

    ¡°A new cannon fodder that is nearly captain level. I wonder how long she will last¡± Banished said with a snide remark, and an evil grin plastered on her face.

    ¡°Longer than you will¡± Ophelia coldly said as she was just an arms reach away from Banished, and she had her blunderbuss pressed against Banished stomach in the only area that was wide enough to squeeze it in.

    Banished looked down with a twisted smile, and I could tell that is what she wanted as soon a spear shot down the barrel of the blunderbuss to impale Ophelia through the shoulder. Banished twisted her body a bit, and the chains that wrapped around Banished shattered with ease before disappearing. In the process Banished snapped the tip off the great sword, and spun downwards to use the broken blade to slice through Opehlia¡¯s mouth. The spear that impaled Ophelia crumbled away into ash before Banished slammed her foot into Opehlia¡¯s chest to pin her to the ground with the sound of her ribcage shattering in the process. Banished turned around to a still stunned John, and slammed her fist into the plate mail protecting John¡¯s abdomen. A loud squelching noise could be heard as John leaned forward, and started to collapse to the ground. Banished walked a bit to the side, and reached back to the collar of John¡¯s chest plate, and tore off the back half to reveal a crater like something exploded inside of him.

    ¡°That is so hard to do without exploding both sides¡± Banished stated as she looked down at the corpse of John. ¡°Too bad you couldn¡¯t get past your limited scope of vision. All you care about is the glory of fighting, and never saw outside of that even when your wife was dying in your arms. I might just send your kids your head as a final gift.¡±

    ¡°Now then¡± Banished said as she slipped out of sight only to reappear in front of the soldier with the sword at my throat, and with a simple upward stroke sliced her in half. Banished grabbed the arm with the sword, and sliced it off and threw it down a corridor. A person was running out of fear between the columns wasn¡¯t paying attention as the sword hit dead on the person¡¯s throat. The person was lifted off the ground for a bit before dropping back down clawing at their throat as it was bleeding out.

    ¡°Geeze Audri really wasn¡¯t good under pressure. If she focused a bit better those chains might not have snapped so easily. I never did get this girl''s name either, but not like it matters¡± Banished stated as if she was bored.

    ¡°I lost track after ninety or so were killed. Do you know how many people were there?¡± Banished asked as she turned towards me.

    ¡°Not sure. I think maybe closer to three hundred¡± I replied.

    "Oh well. Was expecting a larger turn out" Banished said rather disappointedly.

    "I guess most of the insects have died, so I can give you the first shot. Just don''t waste it" Banished coldly said as she took a few steps away from me. She spun around, and opened her arms as to show she was wide open.

    "This feels like a complete trap" I said nervously.

    "What can I do to make it not feel like one?" Banished asked, a bit confused.

    "You are serious?" I stuttered.

    "Totally" Banished said with a smile.

    "Okay" I said as I drew out one of my swords, and lunged at Banished. True to her word she didn''t dodge or do anything to block it as the sword dug through her small chest, and the sword buried itself down to the guard.bi could see the rest of the blade protruding from her back.

    "Straight through the heart. Nice" Banished said weakly as she grabbed the pommel of the sword.

    "Don''t bother pulling it out. You will cause more damage" I said stating the facts.

    "I know" Banished said as if the weakness in her voice earlier wasn''t there, and she seemed to glow. I could feel an unnatural heat against my gauntlet, and I removed my hand from the handle.

    "So an elite mage hunter as well" Banished said with a smile as she with ease pulled out the sword minus the blade. There was grey slag around the guard that still was liquid as bits dropped to the ground.

    "That did hurt, so I can''t fault you for mistaking me as a standard mage. I''m the rare type that you class as battle mage" Banished said as she ripped the other half of the blade out of her back. Orange and grey liquid poured out of the stab wound, and her skin was now glowing from within.

    I reached down for my other sword, but she covered the distance between us in a blink of an eye. "No chance" Banished said as she made an upward chop motion. I could feel the fresh air leak into my armor as I looked down to see it was cut open from where my gauntlet was at my waist up to the top of my breastplate.

    "Come again?" Banished wondered as she looked at her broken lightning blade that extended past her fingers.

    "This is new" Banished muttered as she took a step back. I started to pull out my sword, but Banished stopped me with ease.

    "Nope" Banished said as she threw a quick left jab. I could feel my armor melt as her fist went through it, but the punch was soft almost like she wasn''t even trying.

    "Okay now this is bullshit territory" Banished said before retreating to a safe distance away.

    "I agree. Never had to deal with a mage like you before" I said nervously. I wasn''t too sure what to do at this point.

    "Are you finished over here Banished. I killed at least a dozen or two cowards" a familiar voice said with the sound of something being dragged.

    "Just got one left, but I might not be able to kill him" Banished replied.

    "Hoh. That is interesting" the voice said as she appeared from the depths of the cave. It turned out to be Adrian, and behind her was another person being dragged along still alive.

    "I guess Lin was more an even match then you took" Adrian said, a bit cocky.

    "I doubt it. You know I''m holding back to get information on him" Banished replied without a care. "How many are currently dead.

    "All, but these two. Which makes the toll upwards of three hundred twenty-two" Adrian replied.

    "And why isn''t that person dead?" Banished asked.

    "Just annoyingly hardened their skin enough to prevent physical weapons from piercing through" Adrian replied.

    "You can''t imbue your weapon?" Banished wondered a bit confused.

    "For melee weapons, not really" Adrian replied.

    "Oh well. I''ll deal with it later" Banished said flatly.

    ¡°As for you. We are going to have a small talk later¡± Banished said as she looked over at me,

    I was about to take a step back, but in a blink of my eye Banished was already in front of me in the air. I felt something impact the side of my helmet like a solid piece of iron, and I quickly lost footing to the ground. My head felt like it was splitting apart for a second before the world started to swim and turn dark.

 Smoldering Ashes

    I woke up staring up at a warping wooden ceiling above my head, and soon realized the world felt rather unstable. I tried to roll over; however, something kept me in place or it was my inability to even move. I looked down at my left arm, and had to focus on it to have it move again. It took a lot of straining to get it to move, and I could feel beads of sweat forming from the sheer effort.

    ¡°Looks like she took a number on you when you don¡¯t even remember, nor have the conscious ability to react¡± Someone whispered nearby that almost felt like the person was talking directly in my mind. I wanted to turn my head to the source of the voice, but trying to do that hung my head down all loose against my left shoulder.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see here. A minor fracture up, and down your cranium spinal cord. 4 spots pinching your nerves. .A depression in your cranium that has buried bone fragments into your brain. You are lucky to even still be alive, but I guess she has no experience in trying to recover another person back to proper status. The damage she recovered was serviceable to make you live this long¡± The person continued. I felt something soft like fur touching my head, and something washed over me like icy water.

    ¡°Till we meet again Lin¡± The voice whispered in a growingly faded voice. I was surprised by what the person did as I could move my body like it was normal, so I looked around for the person. However they weren¡¯t even around in the room, but there was a gold choker sitting on the dresser next to the bed with a letter sitting underneath of the choker decorated with bloody fingerprints except the name was clearly legible, it was directed at me. I pushed aside the choker, and picked up the letter. My finger slipped on the fresh blood that was on the letter, and the letter slipped from my hand onto the floor. I leaned over to reach down to pick up the letter from the floor, and heard the door open.

    I tensed up as they slowly walked up as they seemed nervous, and whispered ¡°Lin?¡± I recognized the voice as they seemed rather nervous and scared.

    ¡°Yes?¡± I asked in response as I straightened myself to see Abigail holding a bouquet of white roses. I had only given those flowers for guild members that had passed over the years, and I bought a bouquet for Miriam recently. I didn¡¯t think they were for anyone that was recovering, but I rarely visited the infirmary ward of the guild.

    Abigail dropped the bouquet of roses, and rushed over to me tackling me to the bed in a hug. ¡°So glad to see you are awake¡± Abigail choked out as tears were rushing down her face. I wanted to ask, but figured now wouldn¡¯t be the right time as I embraced Abigail back. I held onto Abigail till she stopped crying, and she pushed herself off of me. I could now get a good look at her face even though she kept trying to wipe away the tears that weren¡¯t there. Under her eyes were black bags that showed that she hadn¡¯t slept that much, and her eyes were bloodshot. From what I could feel was her hair was drying out, and very brittle from undue stress. I didn¡¯t think Abigail was this fail before I left, but now I was worried about what happened and how long I had been out. I finally noticed her fingers were bandaged as if something cut her hands, or a protection seal hurt her. I thought back to the envelope in my hand, and I could hear the sound of blood drops hitting the ground. Abigail finally finished by trying to scrape away the non-existent tears causing thin tears on her face as she left the room with heavy steps like she saw a ghost. I wanted to call out to her, but held myself back as she might have actually collapsed into a heap or run off causing more harm to her.

    I just sat there looking out the open door as the room seemed to grow colder as I didn¡¯t hear anyone else coming, and the hourly bell rang loud eleven times. I sighed and looked down at the envelope. There were no other markings besides the bloody fingerprints and my name on the front. I flipped it over, and broke the rose seal on the backside. Inside was a simple thin piece of paper written in basic cursive writing that magus use to make themselves seem better than standard people.

    It stated: ¡°Dear Lin,

    If you are reading this. Then they made it over to you to help you out. I¡¯m sorry I overdid it when I kicked you, but it sadly had to be done to make it look convincing. Now I expect some kind of retribution when we meet again, so I look forward to that. Another thing is I left our family¡¯s sign of marriage with this letter. It is that choker, but that one isn¡¯t the turn bindings of life as it is the one for engagement. I won¡¯t need to explain it all here right now, and will explain more when I visit you to see your answer. Don¡¯t worry as I know for now we are strangers in name. Let¡¯s meet at the Owl¡¯s Tavern as the freljord monsoon comes at midday.

    -Banished

    PS: Do watch out for the Magus Inquisitors as they might want answers as you are still alive.

    PSS: Attached to this letter is a familiar scent that will help you calm down.¡±

    I brought the letter closer to my face, but not too close in case there was a toxic substance involved. However the familiar lemon and honey scent wafted from the letter, and I could feel all my nerves melt away like freshly melted ice. I got up out of bed to walk over to the bouquet of white roses that Abigail dropped off. I brushed them off a bit, and walked back over to the bed to place them in a vase that was on the dresser. I walked over to the bookshelf to wait for Abigail to return back with probably Erik or Adrian. If it was Adrian I¡¯d probably deck her sending me out on that mission even if it was forced. I picked up a black market book that I had been meaning to finish about the magick and technological advancement before I was born titled: ¡°An interview with Akiko, the technomagic advancer genius.¡± I flipped the book to my book marker that was on the invention of the magick camera. I walked back to my bed, and began to read it.

    ****

    ¡°¡®So let¡¯s start this next segment. Let¡¯s talk about this ingenious idea of the camera, and especially your use of them to check their means of death. I wonder how did you come up with this setup?¡¯ The interviewer asked.

    ¡®Which part you want to know about. The idea of the camera, or the use of it to identify corpses?¡¯ Akiko asked, looking for clarification.

    ¡®Let¡¯s start with the idea of the camera.¡¯ The interviewer replied.

    ¡®Sure. The idea of the camera has been around for quite some time. I actually can¡¯t remember when I wanted one built as I was working for both the guild and as a mercenary at the same time. It might have been during one mission I handed out to a startup group of closer to 50 new members of the guild. I mean they were brand new as they came from a nearby village from over the mountains. I¡¯d say the youngest was about twelve years old, and the oldest was around twenty. They were all cocky as they supposedly beat all the monsters around their village location, and there weren''t any threats possible. I so wanted to prove to them that there are more monsters than meet the eye. They demanded to take one of the biggest threats on the board which was a rogue basilisk.¡¯ Akiko explained.

    ¡®Basilisk? I¡¯ve never seen one before, nor heard of anyone willing to divulge that information.¡¯ The interviewer wondered.

    ¡®Sure. They are typically a secret monster to hunt in the guild due to their high threats. As a result most are kept in cages, and tracked on the map. The ones we are called rogue basilisks typically were ones that ran free, or broke out of their cages. What they look like are a massive ebony colored snake with crimson eyes when they are fully grown. The scales can break even magick enhanced swords, and deflect arrows. Plus there are these thin thorn-like hairs on the surface that can cut even into wyrm scales, and the tail is tipped with this toxic barb that is hidden unless you are impaled. They have this jaw that can split down the middle to eat anything bigger than its mouth can consume, but it¡¯s not like there is anything bigger than a fully grown basilisk as they are closer to fifty feet from the snout to the tip of their tail and as wide as eight feet at their thinnest, ballooning up to fifteen feet if they swallowed anything large. The caged ones are only half that size as they become a massive issue if any bigger, so they are given out as quests to the highest ranked members of the guild. The money they get is enough for lifetimes as the parts are rare. It was posted on boards before as your standard guild members with any semblance of a brain, or a collection of a brain, wouldn¡¯t bother taking it. The risk of death is high, and typically not even worth the rewards that are given.¡¯ Akiko explained.

    ¡®As I was saying before. So those roughly fifty something newbies took the bounty off the board, and slammed it on the desk in front of me. I took the paper, and told them to piss off as they would all die with ease. The quest was being saved for the top ranked member when they came back from border patrol against Kaori. The leader of the group pulled out her sword, and pointed it at my throat. It was at that point that I wanted to have a camera to photograph these poor fools at their final moments to send back to their parents. I obliged to give them their quest, and once they agreed to waive their rights to place anything back on the guild as we did give them sufficient warning about the stupidity of the mission. Once they left I had a massive betting pool going for how many was to live, and for the record I voted that none was going to live. A few voted that one or two might run away back to the guild. Only one person voted more than two people would live.¡¯ Akiko continued from earlier.

    ¡®So how many did live through that?¡¯ The interviewer asked curiously.

    ¡®We waited for like a month when the top ranked adventurers did return, but nothing did return from those newbies till the day that the top ranked adventurers were about to set off. A village elder from near the last sighting of the basilisk came into the hall carrying the head of the cocky leader all bloated, and bubbling with necrosis. I gave the elder props for willing to carry the head all the way to the guild hall in a bag, and the bag was slowly leaking the entire way through with black liquid as the tissue fluid was dripping through the thin hole of the poor girl''s swollen esophagus¡¯ Akiko replied.

    ¡®I was developing the camera during that entire month, and saw the head as a perfect way to see ways to develop it even further or see any flaws with it. The head was in no shape, nor recognizable to anyone besides me. I took the head to my workshop, and took the first photograph with the nearly perfected prototype of the condition of the head. I took multiple photographs at different light levels, and angles to see what would work out. Once that was done. I started to cut apart the head while photographing after every cut to test the zoom function, and see how much detail I could gather for future research in possible medicine that I could hand over. It was when I looked at the eyes after I did a detailed zoom in photo did I notice scars against the back of the eye near the optic nerve, and found that interesting as there was plenty of potential to tell about the cause of death. There seemed to be scars of wind and water runic magick burned in, and I wanted to know more. Now by this point the top ranked member had left for the basilisk, so there was no way for me to gather any detail on them. They did return later that week bloodied and bruised. So I took that opportunity to examine their eyes, and noticed some more scars from magick they were all known for using. I wanted to examine a few more corpses to hopefully see a before and after image. So once we got the all clear that the basilisk was confirmed to be killed, I set out on a trip to gather materials. I could have used the guild to do so, but I wanted some fresh air at the time. Upon my travels I encountered a bandit group nearby the mountains near a barely used mine. I could tell they were from a nearby village that fell into shambles as a recent crop failure scattered everyone. So when they tried to capture me, I instead beat them all to an inch of their life. I took photographs of each one of their eyes after I bound them all up, and slaughtered half of them with an iron sword to get a control sample. Then I started to slaughter the rest with variations of fire magick I can produce like a fireball or a fire sword. To my surprise even within the same magick there were subtle differences on the burn marks in the eyes. However, that only applied to the ones that saw their cause of death as the one I killed after they were blindfolded were unable to register the marks other than the basic mark related to the element¡® Akiko continued.¡±

    ****

    "Stop swinging that staff around" I could hear Erik shout in a panic voice as his footsteps got closer to the room.

    "Take back what you said" Abigail responded angrily. Erik quickly ran into my room, and made a break for the window. I did the same thing before when I annoyed Abigail, and it was a pain for her to calm down. Erik frantically tied to undo the lock on the window when Abigail charged into the room. Her face bright red from running for some period of time, and from the obvious scowl on her face. Erik gave up trying the lock when Abigail jumped over the bed to club him over the head. Erik barely moved out of the way as it came down, and it smashed through the lock holding the window tight. The window creaked open from the vibration, and Erik pinned himself into a corner on his knees. I let out a sigh, and closed my book. Abigail snapped out of trance, and so did Erik to both look at me.Stolen story; please report.

    "What?" I said. I was a bit stunned as well as my voice sounded completely different. It was more feminine, so I looked down to see I was still in my normal body though.

    "What is going on" I whispered to myself.

    "Are you really Lin?" Erik asked with a confused look on his face.

    "I should be" I replied nervously before a searing pain erupted from the left side of my chest. I looked down to see that my shirt was drenched in blood, so I took off my shirt to see a blood sigil. It looked like a family crest, and it felt very familiar like I belonged to it. It was an hourglass emptied about two thirds encircled with a ouroboros snake with a further encirclement of a rose that bloomed just above the head of the ouroboros and the top of the hourglass. I barely remember the day I was given this sigil from my family, but I couldn¡¯t remember who that was anymore as my original family was killed years ago.

    I looked up at Abigail who looked very pale upon seeing the sigil. ¡°Where should I put this bouquet Abigail?¡± A familiar voice said, and I looked over at Adrian who just came in holding a bouquet of white roses. Adrian looked rather confused at Abigail¡¯s pale face, and looked back over at me who was sitting upright. I could almost tell that Adrian¡¯s eyes wanted to fall out of their socket as she saw me before she threw the bouquet against the wall to rush at me. In one swift motion picked me up in the air by my neck, and deftly moved her fingers against my skin to analyze me.

    ¡°Who did this? What monster is out there that can heal that level of injury¡± Adrian stated as she let me go. Apparently not noticing the sigil yet as she looked around the room like a cat searching for the mere trace of a mouse. Abigail collapsed to the ground as she grew too light headed, and Erik kneeled down to try to help her up.

    ¡°Who the fuck are you really Lin?¡± Erik asked with venom in his voice.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand that question?¡± I asked as I was rather confused at the hostile turn this was becoming.

    ¡°You can¡¯t feign ignorance with that sigil¡± Erik spat out as he picked up Abigail.

    I could feel Adrian wanted to tear my head off as she looked down at my sigil. ¡°So we had a traitor within our midst. No one you were a monster just she was¡± Adrian stated.

    The atmosphere grew cold as their anger was slowly devolving in a murderous bloodlust. These were people I trusted, but apparently this sigil was a disaster. I looked down at the book sitting on the bed sheet to see the same sigil was prominent on the backside with the word ¡°Azure Rose¡± underneath it. I finally understood that Akiko and Banished were the same, and I barely remember there was a bounty on anyone with connection to Azure Rose yet it seemed like everyone was chasing a ghost. The only reason Banished allowed scot free was due to the magus college, but that didn¡¯t mean an ¡°accident¡± was barred. Erik placed Abigail in a chair before tearing the mirror off the desk that it was glued down to and throwing it at me. I caught the mirror in my left hand like it was nothing, but I then noticed Adrian lunging at me with a thin blade that surrounded her hand. I used the mirror to block the thrust from Adrian; however Erik didn¡¯t hesitate as the bed was nearly up against the wall as Adrian¡¯s blade hit the mirror. I kicked the wall behind me to bust a hole to slip through that gap as the bed was smashed against the wall. My body was still aching as I just woke up recently, but that didn¡¯t matter as I was now in another fight for my life. I had a few seconds to figure out what to do before Erik or Adrian either broke through the wall or ran around. I noticed I was in the corner room of the building, and there was a smaller shop across the street that belonged to the dwarven smith. There was something about dwarves that I didn¡¯t like naturally, and I could feel that same bloodlust from the dwarf as she had the same hatred as me. I rushed towards the window grabbing a chair along the path to use that as a shield to bust through the window. As I busted through the window Erik used the bed as a means to smash through the wall, and Adrian followed shortly after. I was already halfway down to the ground level with the shattered remains of the chair. I braced myself for impact against the ground , and started to roll at a moment that felt right. I barely mistimed the roll as I hit the ground a bit harder then I wanted, but it didn¡¯t matter as I could still continue to run. I rushed into the blacksmith to steal one of her steel longswords, and when she tried to confront me I kicked her into the anvil. I barely gave a second glance back at her as she was splayed out on the top of the anvil after she hit the corner of it. I was partially hoping I kicked her into her precious furnace as she once tried to shove me into it for giving insult to her subpar crafting skills. At that time I saw gnomes craft better gear, and now I rather trust arachne or even lamias.

    I ran through the back door of the smithy trying to formulate a plan for me to get out of this city as soon the soldiers, mercenaries, adventures, and especially the magus inquisitors. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up, and I abruptly ran down a side alley as a fireball slammed into the ground where I was going to be at. I could feel the heat emanating from the blast lick my ankle to know that it was meant to turn me into a pile of ash if lucky as I could hear the stone just sizzle away and the acrid smell of burning flesh that was probably unlucky to be within those buildings. However now wasn¡¯t the time to be worrying about others as I knew only one sect would be willing to use an explosion that powerful, the magus inquisitors. I even knew one person who was even willing to use a blast that powerful as she had a high distrust for me, and even wanted to gut me ever since we first met, it was First Lieutenant Justinian Enegale. I could taste the bloodlust dripping from her mouth even though I didn¡¯t know where she was. I ran down another alley as the ground behind me erupted as lava started to pour out. Most people would think she was missing, but this was how she played around with her prey to let them let their guard down before surrounding them. Most of the time she was restrained to reduce the number of casualties and collateral damage, but this time it seemed her leash was removed. I knew where I was, and used the building on both sides to get up onto the rooftop as the path in front of me turned into a wall of fire and the path that was under me melted away. I ran across the rooftop to jump to another building as the structural stability of the building deteriorated as the lava lapped away at it. I was slowly making my way towards the center of town where the magus weren¡¯t allowed, and could hopefully catch my breath as I hoped the word hadn¡¯t reached the adventure guild just yet. I leaped off the building as it collapsed, and just as I landed the stone roof split open under my feet causing me to fall through. As I fell through I could see the smirk on the Second Lieutenant like she knew what I was going to be doing, but what she didn¡¯t think about was I expecting her as well to open me a free passage. So in return for her kindness I threw the sword I stole at her to prevent her from getting another cast off on me as I punched my way through the floor to bust into the maintenance tunnels. I could feel my entire hand breaking from the impact, but that was minor considering my life was in danger. They really sent out a death squad for my head, and I knew if I didn¡¯t escape the town I was going to die. I gave up my plan for the adventurers district as I could be easily surrounded by the time I got there. I ran down the narrow tunnel, and could hear the stampede of magus inquisitors behind me. I thought I was safe as I hit a T junction in the tunnel, but that was a mistake as I was about to make the turn for the left path. I could hear the crackle of fire under my feet and soon the ground underneath of me exploded. It was a landmine that someone planted. I fumbled to the ground, and tumbled about skidding to a stop against the wall with my left foot blown clean off and at least half my left shin. At this point I was wishing it just blew my entire leg off, but that pipe dream wasn¡¯t going to come true as spikes from the wall jutted out to impale me. It wasn¡¯t fatal, but I could feel the serrated edges against my vital organs ready to turn them into ground meat if I even tried to escape. I let out a breath as I hoped my death would be swift and painless. I shouldn¡¯t have let my guard down as it dropped my anti-magick barrier, and the soft footsteps of the inquisitors slowly marching down both sides of the tunnel as if to gloat their easy victory pissed me off.  I could feel the serrated edges on the spikes retract, and the spikes soon left my body leaving me to drop to the ground as I was letting out a lot of blood. Blood was quickly pooling under me as I felt the air start to cool down, and my vision was starting to grey out. I knew they weren¡¯t going to kill me that easily, and I noticed the magus inquisitors executioner within their midst. A sadistic bitch that knew blood magick, and I saw some of her ¡°special sculptures¡± that she made from victims. She once told me that she had a special spot in her room for me to occupy once she got her hands on me. I knew that it wasn¡¯t a good sign as I had to once put down one of her sculptures as she was bored of keeping it alive. My vision was going black as I saw her standard smile, and her sickly, small, delicate fingers wiggle about in my direction. I just wished for death as I slipped out of consciousness.

    I woke back up bound to a chair if you could call it that as I was sitting on a wooden chair dotted with spikes digging into my skin. I could see dried blood stains from under my arms from previous victims. I couldn¡¯t move my head as I could feel the leather straps digging into my forehead and neck, so I was forced to look across the table at the executioner Ivana. Her silver hair was speckled with crimson stains that I swear from previous victims. Her slim, thin figure would be like the upper class of royal beauty if it wasn¡¯t for her penance of violence that stripped her of her title.

    ¡°Normally I have something on the table of someone beloved to you. However you don''t have any people remotely close to you. Even the three people that you once called friends would rather kill you. Besides you know how I work, so that strategy wouldn¡¯t be that effective¡± Ivana softly whispered as she softly rapped her fingers on the table. A cruel smile was plastered on that face of hers as she made a small gesture like she was pulling something, and I could feel my stomach lurch as a spire of blood erupted from my abdomen before quickly rushing back into my body.

    ¡°Now that we both know the stakes. I¡¯m going to ask you questions. If I¡¯m satisfied with the answer. I¡¯ll not torture you for a minute¡± Ivana declared as she slammed a blood stained hourglass on the table. The glass was cracked, and I could see specks of sand slip through the crack here and there.

    ¡°You can go to hell you bitch. Even if I could give you any answers, I wouldn¡¯t¡± I spat out, and I could still hear that feminine voice.

    Ivana chuckled as she walked around the table dragging on her nails on the table, and it let out a loud screech. ¡°You are going to want for death when I¡¯m done with you. Whether it was to be burned alive by the first lieutenant or impaled by the second¡± Ivana whispered as she grabbed my right index finger, and with ease snapped in backwards. I bit my lip as I could see the skin was still intact, but my finger was touching the back of my hand. I couldn¡¯t move it anyways.

    ¡°I¡¯d love to rape you right here, but you aren¡¯t in that position yet. I remember the last person that I raped right here, in the same chair. Oh they were begging me to kill them as she was bleeding out, but we kept fucking for hours till she broke to give me the answers that I wanted to hear. I still have that dog around on a leash that you have seen¡± Ivana stated as she bit down on my right ear, and tore off half of it.

    ¡°Now let¡¯s start off easy. How are you still alive, and what is your affiliation with Azure Rose?¡± Ivana asked.

    ¡°I can¡¯t give you the answer to either one¡± I replied truthfully as I had nothing to gain from lying. Ivana reached down to my right hand, and sliced it open along each bone down to the wrist to make my hand look like five extended bits of flesh.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to enjoy this as you aren¡¯t screaming yet¡± Ivana said.

    ¡°This is nothing¡± I spit out.

    ¡°Oh someone trained you in torture resistant?¡± Ivana wondered as she impaled a blood spike through my right arm.

    ¡°I will get my answer one way or another¡± Ivana stated.

    ¡°I dare you to try¡± I retorted.

    Ivana kicked the back of the chair to have it recline, and she threw a rag over my face. ¡°I normally don¡¯t like going to the extreme, but you seem determined to resist. I wonder how you will last.¡±

    I could hear the shifting of a bucket, and soon the cold sensation of water was felt on my skin and through the rag. The damp rag filled my nostrils and open mouth, and soon I felt the sensation of drowning as I was gasping for air. My breathing was slowly becoming more ragged, and it was becoming extremely hard to breathe. My body was trying to squirm to get out of the sensation, and it was overriding my attempt to remain calm. The iron spikes were tearing apart my skin, but I just didn¡¯t care as I needed to get out of the current situation. Just as I was nearing the limit of consciousness, the rag was removed from my face. My body let out a loud gasp for air as it was letting in fresh, acrid air. Ivana was standing over me with a smile that was to let know she was winning.

    I could feel a stabbing in my right hand as she was probably sewing my hand back together with steel wires. I really hated this bitch as she knew how to drag a person to the limit without care. I could hear her humming a child¡¯s lullaby as she was sewing any gaping wound.

    ¡°The next time you are on the brink of death. Expect me to be fucking you as you start gasping for breath. The excitement of your body in a fight or flight mode as it is slowly drawing it¡¯s last breath while it is engaged in a pleasurable action is so lovely¡± Ivana whispered. ¡°You have no idea how many get addicted to that brink of death pleasure that they are willing to spill their guts for another round.¡± Ivana licked her lips at the thought.

    ¡°Now which type of pleasure do you want to try next?¡± Ivana asked.

    I was now mentally begging for Odin, or even Akiko to come in. However I didn¡¯t even know who they were personally I think, so I found it odd that I was thinking of them.

    ¡°You want to try the thousand cuts?¡± Ivana said as she made a mocking gesture as she leaned in to me.

    ¡°For now I¡¯ll let you rest up. Can¡¯t enjoy a person if they aren¡¯t at top form¡± Ivana said as she left the room. I let out a sigh as this was insanity, but it was something I expected. I wasn¡¯t expecting any assistance to get out as my closest allies were more than likely to stab me in the back. I closed my eyes to think on what I should do, and I felt myself just want to give into this madness as it will at least ease the pain. I couldn¡¯t really give her answer, nor did I want to betray my family.

    ¡°Wait. Family? Why am I remembering my adopted family now¡± I thought to myself. I cannot make out what my adopted family looks like, but my entire family did raise me to be I guess a monster. My original family I barely remember, besides the beaming smile of my older sister. I shed a tear as I slowly started to remember all the good times I had with her. I missed that warm embrace, and started to long for Jin or Akiko.

    ¡°Finally remember Master Lin?¡± A familiar voice that I haven¡¯t heard in decades echo in the room.

    ¡°Jin. I won¡¯t even bother how you got in, but I guess I am grateful to hear your voice¡± I said.

    ¡°Of course. I wasn¡¯t allowed to interfere unless you hit a certain threshold. I am sure your sister is rolling in her grave¡± Jin stated as I could feel a gust of wind slice through the leather binds.

    Jin picks me up from the chair as my skin peels off. I can feel my scales start to react as it slowly starts to shift back into place. ¡°Damn did I forget a lot¡± I said as I looked down at my right hand as the scales ripped apart the steel stitching to reattach everything.

    ¡°Let¡¯s leave Ivana a bit thirsty before she returns¡± I said as I wrapped my arms around Jin¡¯s neck.

    ¡°You got it¡± Jin replied as he kissed me on the lips, and I could feel the winds whipping up.