《Dystopius》


 Book 1 Chapter 1: Beneath the Pavement

    ?Hoy! Stop right there thief! ? The guard shouted. A hooded figure ran in the opposite direction, the apparent thief¡¯s wooden soled boots clicking against the stony pavement. The guards gave chase, but weighed down by their heavy weapons and armor, and further slowed down by the tight crowds, they soon gave up the chase, watching the black cloak vanish in the great tumultuous crowd.


    The thief took a turn off the main market square and ran into a dark back alley, the sun shone against the walls high above, leaving the ground itself in a dark shroud. Along the walls sat the weak and the destitute. Many appeared to sleep, some begged for bread. The thief hurriedly passed by them, avoiding eye contact under the thick woolen hood covering the thief¡¯s face. Another turn into what appeared to be a dead end. Clicking the wooden soled boots together three times, the cover of a manhole ahead was raised and pushed aside. The thief climbed down the manhole into the darkness beneath.


    Buried beneath the Imperial Capital City was the sewer system, a grand complex of waterways and canals built by Saint Travan to fight a vile plague that had long ago swept through the streets. The thief walked along the wall of the sewer canal, each step in the watery filth caused a disgusting stench to break through the surface of the water. The complete darkness filled the thief with a sense of dread, knowing full well that darkness could be a great asset, and a terrible foe. The thief continued until arriving at a large iron door, and after struggling to pull it open, slipped inside.


    Behind the steel door, a new world opened. Straight out of the filth, and into a warm hall, lit by small bonfires around which poor men, women and children had been gathered together.


    ¡°Be at ease my followers! For one of my disciples have returned to us!¡± The old, bearded man at the opposite end of the hall stood up from his seat and held out his arms in a welcome gesture. A few heads turned and the dim, lazy eyes for a second, sparked to life.


    The thief pulled back her hood revealing her young face, her dirty, unwashed brown hair and gaunt, underdeveloped features.


    ¡°Step forth child, what have you brought me today?¡±


    ¡°Master, I brought you a loaf of bread, and two apples from the grocer on Third street." The young thief emptied her pack onto the small dirty cloth laid out on the brick floor.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    The old man looked at the booty, nodded slowly and stood up, raising his arms into the air.


    "Behold good people! Zarthraskiel provides! By his grace, this child has brought you sustenance! Now give Zarthraskiel his due, two-thirds of the bounty!"


    One of the old man''s guards, a dirty, tall, muscular man with an empty, infected eyesocket stepped forth, raised his rusty cleaver and split one of the apples in two. He then took the bread, the whole apple and one of the halves, returning it to his master.


    "Now, share the piece evenly children! Any who takes too much will be struck down by Zarthraskiel''s wrath!"


    A loud scramble began as every individual began scurrying towards the piece, eyes gleaming at the prospect of food.


    The young thief stepped backwards to avoid being trampled as the hungry group descended. She looked up to see the two guards nod to each other and move towards the group. The old man stood up and left the room through a door behind his throne. The two guards each found a woman and after some whispering, the guards both grinned and led the two women away from the others, and through another door along the room''s western wall. Meanwhile, the group struggled for food. Old men were pushed aside, young children kicked and thrown while women wailed and shouted for a share.


    The young thief took out her small ration box. Her master would often give her leftover scraps from the food sacrifice for her to remain functional, just as he would for the other five children working under him. She took out an apple core and began chewing on it. One of the men noticed and came towards her, his eyes filled with lust for her leftovers. He extended his dirty hands towards her, his bony fingers barely strong enough to grasp the fabric of her cloak.


    Crack! She planted the tip of her boot in his face, causing him to fall over, bleeding from his nose. His eyes had lost all lust and were terrified. She continued nibbling on her precious food, taking care to leave enough of the half-decayed core to last her another day.


    A rough hour passed, and three more children arrived, all carrying some valuable goods in the form of spare coins or food. One even brought a fine cotton shirt hidden within his shoddy robe. The master soon emerged, received the bounty, made another announcement, and ordered the young thief and her compatriots back outside to find more. The young thief turned on her heels and made for the exit, seeing in the corner of her eye, the two guards and the two women emerge from the room. The men wore wide grins, and handed each of the blank eyed women a single slice of bread each, before tearing off and eating half. Satisfied,they went back to their master''s side, while the women attempted to regain a small shred of dignity.

 Chapter 2: Rays of Light

    The young thief soon emerged out of the back street into the brightly lit, spacious and resplendent market district. The sun causing her to squint momentarily as she kept a wary eye out for any nearby guards. She removed her conspicuous cloak and stuffed it into her small pack, revealing a dirty, but properly made and tailored tunic, stolen from a shop. Without her cloak, she could be any village girl, returning home from a day working in the fields or cleaning a noble house. The open district was packed with people, stalls and decorations, ready for the crowning of the new Emperor. She gently slid in among the many merchants and citizens, watching for sagging trousers and heavy bags. She soon spotted a pair belonging to a huge gentleman, currently in the process of ordering what appeared to be his staff to carry is heavy items.


    "Careful! That cabinet will be in the entrance hall! If you drop it. I''ll have you whipped!"


    She maneuvered closer, pretending to study the details and smell of a freshly oiled and painted wooden cabinet. The moment soon arrived. The cabinet in question proved too heavy for the clearly underfed servants. With a terrifying crash, the cabinet came apart as it slammed into the cut stone pavement. The man roared in anger and began beating his servants with a large riding crop. She approached him silently, keeping a low profile, soon she was behind him just as he raised his arm to strike again. His heavy pouch bounced in his loose pocket, and as the leather crop struck servant flesh, she deftly cut the rope attaching the pouch to the belt. Within moments she had put distance between them, ten meters, sixteen, soon his angry voice had blurred out in the buzz of the crowd. A few second later, a deafening scream momentarily caused the immediate area to fall silent.


    "Thieves! Brigands! Cutpurses and scoundrels! Guards! Guards! My coins are stolen! GUARDS!!!"


    She looked up at the sky, affording herself a smile under the pretense of the warm temperature. The initial response soon died down, and the square went back to normal, save for a squad of guards making their way towards the now much poorer gentleman.


    The young thief had made her way into the slum district. A filthy, decaying hole holding those who had not yet fallen to such desperation to seek out the sewer gods; invented mockeries and imitations of the golden marvels placed in front of the opulent temples in their honor. Of the most popular gods, Yulie was the one most common even underground. There she was known as Vilji, a sometimes gentle and sometimes violent deity, who would protect those who were content and strong, and clear out those who would not conform to the absolute squalor.


    Beggars lined the still damp streets, the tall wall and high-built houses leaving the streets in almost permanent shade. A stench of decay, defecation and disease hung heavily as filth was simply thrown out of windows, a mist of pure filth clinging to walls and mixing with the mud.


    She continued onwards, nearly stumbling over destitute beggars who often would grab hold of her clothes. With a kick she would free herself, but they would just keep coming on. She hated the slum, and walking the streets filled her with dread, more so when carrying something of value. She soon arrived in a familiar back alley. At the end of it was a small crumbling shrine dedicated to Acrypha, the patron of thieves and assassins. A silence hung over the streets as not many dared approach. She moved in the shadows, and approached the statue. With one last glance, she pushed aside some of the hanging growth and climbed in behind the statue. She took one last bite of her apple core, and began to dig under the statue with her bare hands. Out of the soggy mud emerged a small metal box, plain to look at and starting to rust and decay like everything else.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Her secret thief''s stash contained very little of true value, but that was about to change. She quietly put the pouch of coins into the box, throwing one glance at the soggy, and burnt remains of the small drawing in the corner before closing the box, submerging it back into the mud. As quietly as she had arrived, she left, covering her muddy tracks and making her way in the direction of the market. With plenty of daylight left, she decided she could manage one more run.


    After some walking, she entered the residential area. The squalor gave way to open, well-kept streets and pretty houses in many different shapes and forms, all built with functionality in mind. The interior she remembered was spacious, depending on the tenants and their wealth. One house she had entered had been lined floor to roof with hunting trophies, each bearing a huge hole straight through the skull made with an oversized, cruel crossbow. The owner had been a renowned hunter. Until she had received a contract to hunt him. A slight smile passed through her lips remembering the satisfying thud and following splash as she put one of the bolts through his skull, before mounting the cracked, dripping head on a pedestal. Another of the houses she had systematically burgled in cooperation with two other kids from her part of the sewer. Despite having known them for long, she found herself unable to remember their faces, both having long since been killed off in botched robberies. She passed by a pair of ladies talking loudly, sharing gossip about their neighbours, as she approached the all pinched their noses and turned away in apparent disgust, having the opposite effect of her going even closer, causing a minor freakout among the ladies.


    She was nearing the end of the district where the road forked, leading into the market district, and the workshop district. A group of people had gathered in a circle over by the wall of a nearby house. Out of curiosity, she decided to move a little closer. As she neared, she saw a stream of blood running between the cut stones, and heard the wet snapping of bone. Despite being a bloody heap, she recognized the young boy as one of the children from the sewers. Four guards stood around him, trampling and kicking him with their metal-covered boots. The boy yelped, but remained still, his thin legs twisted and his fingers being crushed one by one.


    "Dirty little shit... This is what happens when you try to steal from your betters!" One of the guards kicked the boy in the face, sending a spurt of blood and milk teeth flying. Another two guards, on the right made the next move, one held down the boy¡¯s knee, while the other placed a savage kick with his pointy boot into the side of the boy¡¯s leg, just under the kneecap.


    "Take this!" The other guard on the left stomped the boy''s thumb, the broken digit making a disgusting wet crack and snap.


    "Alright, that''s enough. Get back to your posts!" One of the sergeants of the guard approached and the crowd began to disperse. She vanished along with the crowd, feeling no particular remorse. Every day it was survival of the fittest, and the boy had taken the fall for her theft. A hint of relief washed over her as she left the scene, tucked into the crowd. The broken body remained, slowly bleeding dry.

 Chapter 3: Cost of Crumbs

    As the sunlight disappeared behind the mountains, she lowered her last catch into the manhole; A small crate loaded with discarded, hard and dry loaves. With much effort, she had systematically cleared out the crate and loaves in single runs while the baker''s apprentice had been busy flirting with the miller girl. His words had been sickeningly sweet and more than once had he complimented her buns. She had considered throwing a nasty-looking clot of dirt at them but let the thought slide. With great difficulty she made her way back to the sewer shelter. On approach she saw the hired thugs were busy cleaning. With one splash after the other they threw the day''s deceased into the faster flowing sewage, the malnourished corpses stripped of clothes and valuables, floating down the stream and into the sea. Upon seeing her they put aside their undertaker duties and after claiming a share of bread, helped her carry the bounty inside. The old man was busy doing the rounds among his disciples, whispering to them words of encouragement and that god smiled upon any that showed him, as god''s representative, due acknowledgement. His two goons announced her arrival, and the old man''s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly came over.


    "Ah, welcome back my child! You brought us great gifts once again! The most successful of my apostles!


    "Master, listen. Zacharias was killed today." Her words causing him not the slightest hint of grief.


    "Such is the world child, Nobody has the right to live but the strong, but keep coming back with such amounts, and Zarthraskiel will surely bless you with a long life!"Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "I wonder when my parents will come for me."


    "Soon! I''m sure of it! Great Zarthraskiel whispered to me that your parents will arrive any day now."


    "Thank you Master..."


    "You''re welcome, now let''s see about dividing up the bread! Bring half to the shrine so that I may offer it up to our glorious god! The rest goes to our faithful followers!"


    She took a handful of bread and began making rounds. In the small groups huddled around the simple fires, she noticed a lot of unfamiliar faces, mostly children and some adults. Upon seeing the hard bread in her hands their eyes lit up and like flies they began to swarm around her, dirty hands reaching for the overdue loaves.


    "Do you see my dear? You are these people''s great savior! Each day, you bring them hope, and your actions cause them to show our god even more devotion!" The old man placed his warm hand on her shoulder, his gentle smile revealing his distinct lack of teeth, and the poor shape of the remaining browns. She nodded, his words sounded so real to her. She was convinced, she were helping all these people, and soon, her hard work and risks would be rewarded. Any day, her parents would show up and take her away from the sewers. They would bring her to a big house with a big garden. She would bathe in a real metal tub, and dress up like a true princess. Every meal of the day would feature fresh meat, bread straight out of the oven and fruits and vegetables she could only just occasionally steal from the gardens of the rich. The more she heard his words, the more she truly believed that her way out was within reach.

 Chapter 4: Sewercats

    A loud metal noise made her snap awake. In the almost total darkness, save the torches lighting up the room of her Master, she determined the sound came from outside the massive steel door. She quietly ran up to the door and put her ear against it. Somewhere in the sewers, there were a group of people moving around. She reasoned they were merely workers, but a sudden scream, followed by a great chaos of shouts, screams and noises of war sent a chill down her spine: Sewercats.


    A deceptively innocent name, the Sewercats were a military group with a much more convoluted name full of pronunciations she never quite managed to nail down. The nickname stemmed from their main mission of systematically purging the ''rats'' living in the city sewers. As she stood there, one of the master''s goons approached from behind, his disgusting smile replaced by a deep, and quite understandable terror. The screams continued to echo within the sewers for a while, but was soon replaced by a deathly silence.


    "Hey kid... Go out there and open the drain."


    "You do it..." She whispered back.


    "Go... Or I''ll... Cut you real good...!"


    "That''ll draw them in for sure..."


    "Just go!" He whispered half-loud before starting to gently lift the metal bar keeping the door shut. A cacophony of squeaking and metallic shrieks ensued, largely from his attempt at being gentle with the old lock.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    "You''re waking the whole damn place with that!" She whispered, to which he returned her a sour, threatening look.


    Within moments, the locks on the door slid away, and with a loud squeak, he pushed the door open enough for her to slide outside. The tunnel was dark save for a small glimmer of light shining through a vertical pipe connected to some rich person''s rain catcher. On the opposite wall hung a small metal chain, connected to a blocking stone which kept the usual flow of filth from flowing into the tunnel from above. With gentle footsteps she began entering the water which bore a deep red, mixed in with the otherwise normal filth. She made it to the other side with relative ease, and pulled the chain. A loud dunk, was followed by the rapid flow of water. Her mission complete, she began to head back, but nearly stumbled in a strange lump floating in the water. As soon as she reached the light, she saw that the lump was not the usual piece of trash, but a fresh, and still bleeding corpse. Her surprise was only temporary, as her attention was drawn to the noise of footsteps in the water, drawing closer.


    She waded through the water and slipped in behind the door, the recently moved locks making slightly less noise. Inside, some of the people had begun to wake up, and some were already huddled together, shaking visibly with fear. She put her ear to the door and began listening. Over the sound of the running water, she could hear loud swearing, and muted complaints about the apparent wall of filth. A tense two minutes followed, before the silence returned, the footsteps gone. Her heart gradually returned to its normal beat, but the fear stuck to her, even as she tried to make herself comfortable.

 Chapter 5: Dullweed

    "Hey kiddo, get up! The Master wants to see you!" She woke to the voice of one of the goons and his stinking boot prodding her hair. She up righted herself and despite her best instinct, rubbed the sleep from her eyes. The goon handed her a bucket-full from the rainwater barrel, and she dunked her head into it. She remained underwater for a little bit, and when she emerged, the water was already brown with filth. She quickly washed her hands and tried to straighten her clothes without dirtying herself too much.


    The door to the Master''s study was open, and she entered without announcing herself.


    "Good morning child... Another set of contracts arrived just earlier. Your brothers and sisters have already accepted their tasks, so the last one''s for you." He stood up and came over to her and handed her a small roll of paper, taking her hands into his own. She closed her eyes and mumbled a short prayer of success, to which the old man provided his blessing, then she opened the piece of paper.


    The note bore signs of having been hastily scribbled, the letters were sharp and angry-looking, likely belonging to some annoyed noble that wished to embarrass one of his fellows, or settle a score.


    "What does it say?" She looked up from the note.


    "See right here? It says: ''I desire my rival''s sister''s death, they have shamed my house with their philistine ways''... That mean simple or awful... Anyway, it says further: ''Settle this score, and you will be rewarded with sixty copper coins... Take heed that my rival''s sister is under the constant watch of her two retainers. She can be recognized by her philistine face and other features, like her clothes." The old man made a short pause.


    "Which means, you will do whatever brings you the most coin... But please do be careful, I would hate to learn something had happened to you."


    "Yes Master, I will return soon with the money."


    "See to it... I shall pray for you."


    She was just about to leave, but suddenly remembered.


    "Where do I go?"


    "Ah, let me see the note again then." Her Master quickly skimmed the note and returned it to her.


    "You need to leave through the western sewer exit. Once outside, you continue along the road until you arrive at the western wheat fields. The target should be somewhere inside the mansion there."


    Chapter: 6 The Ruins


    The sewers were a large system of tunnels and cisterns running the entire length and width of the city. By taking a certain path a person wanting to avoid attention by the law could follow a length of tunnel and emerge unseen in the slums, or even in the quarters of the rich and powerful. The city guard usually kept the many sewer grates leading outside the walls under surveillance, but only at night, when contraband would be brought it, and payment smuggled out.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    She climbed the last few steps of the ladder emerging onto the level above. At every ladder or area, the different underground groups would hang up some indication as to who held claim over a particular tunnel or hall. The group living above her own were mostly isolationists, preferring to keep their area free for passage, but their doors closed in return. A ruined old boot signaled where their territory began, and she soon reached the marker. Part of her path ran through an old ruin, long since buried as the Imperial capital city grew and expanded on the back of conquered peoples and an influx of raw materials from said peoples. As she approached the ruin, she could hear voices whispering in hushed tones. She snuck closer and climbed a small wall whose bricks protruded out of the wall in a shabby sign of craftsmanship. From her vantage point, she could see the people up ahead were smugglers based on the crates and other wares being lined up along the walls of the ruin. Large carpets, crate upon crate with bottles and big stacks of small white packages. Likely the powdered concentrate of Dullweed, a drug that could cause a variety of reactions; a perfect escapist drug, and valued execution drug for wealthy people destined for hanging or disembowelment.


    She returned to the ruin floor, creeping closer, using the shadows and broken walls as cover. One of the smugglers passed by carrying a torch. From his nervous disposition, she could tell he was on alert, and would pick up any sound out of the ordinary. She remained completely still, listening to his nervous breathing.


    Suddenly, one of the other smugglers appeared next to him. They shared some whispers, and soon the other one trailed off in the direction of the stacks of Dullweed. A pause followed, but suddenly, a bare rear end poked out over the broken ruin wall, and the man began making groaning noises. Before he could continue, she had rolled away, got to her feet, and quickly shoved her rusty, chipped cutting blade into his throat, hurriedly shoving a grasped lump of her cloak into his mouth. The man began quietly gurgling. Using all her strength, she began very slowly digging her blade back out; the rusty blade, sharpened for decorative rope and not flesh and bone, had a hard time in his throat. After a full minute of twisting, turning and sawing, the blade emerged across his throat. She pulled the body back down behind the wall, the head barely connected by strands of flesh and skin. Mere moments after having tucked the body as close to the wall as possible, a flow of red-brown lumpy feces began pouring out of the dead man¡¯s rear end. She quickly retrieved her cloak, wiped her blade on his leather jacket and began a hurried retreat, flanking around the ruin towards the stacks of wares.


    She soon spotted the first guard lying on the ground, his eyes red and bulging, a steady stream of froth bubbling out of his mouth, which was formed into a disgusting grin. In one hand, one of the small packs laid exploded, the white powder having mostly scattered, but a solid pile still rested in the palm of his hand. She snuck over, the salty smell of his soiled pants overtaking her nose, and quickly took a pinch of powder, dropping it into a makeshift pouch she cut from the man¡¯s clothes. As she stood back up to leave, she felt his cold, clammy hand grab onto the ankle of her leg. With extreme force, he began to squeeze it, to the point she felt pain. Suddenly, the ruin erupted in shouting. The other smugglers had discovered the corpse of the other guard, or at least the smell of his liquid feces. She realized she was out of time. She quickly took the hand holding the pack, and moved it, pouring the white powder into the man¡¯s nose and mouth. Immediately, the body convulsed, and a second later, blood began streaming out of the man¡¯s nose. She quickly searched the body for a weapon, and happened upon a small lockbox, and a very sharp dagger. In a motion, she had sheathed the dagger and began making her way to the exit opposite, the voices behind her growing ever louder as the remaining smugglers began to spread out to cover more ground.


    She climbed in behind a nearby crate just in time to avoid an oncoming smuggler from the outside, the uproar from the ruins soon drew in the rest of the smuggling operation, a total of five people passed before she judged it safe to continue.

 Chapter 6: Infiltration

    The night was brightly lit up by the moon, and every object along the path casting a long shadow on the ground. The tall guard towers from which it was possible to see for miles were all manned and brightly lit by torches. A few mounted guards rode quietly around on patrol. Occasionally they spotted a travelling merchant and would approach the stranger for identification. Bugs had gathered around torches and lamps, and one by one, they would fall as little fireballs to the ground. The graveled road continued straight for as far as it was possible to see in the darkness. In the distance, she could only just make out the lamps adorning the mansion she was to visit. She avoided a pair of guards complaining about the length of their shifts and jumped into the ditch that ran alongside the road. The cool night air was still thick with the smell of grass and summer, heavily-laden tree branches sagged over the road, weighed down by yet unripe fruits. She continued along the path until the next cart or rider came thundering towards her. Immediately she sought shelter in the darkness of the ditch, and waited until the rider had passed.


    Reaching the outer fence of the Mansion took her a good while. The main road leading to the city had been unusually busy. About two dozen messenger riders had gone by. Three convoys of wagons, their axels straining against their heavy loads had left visible wheel marks in the ground, and nine squads of soldiers, an unusually high number for a night patrol. To her relief, watching the gardens of the mansion from among the branches of a tree, she saw only a few hired guards on watch. One was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. Another was standing around looking up at the sky. Two guards were by a small bonfire in the garden, talking and drinking heavily. For some strange reason, the opportunity seemed almost too perfect. She quietly released her cloak, and climbed out as far as she dared. Soon, the branch began to bend, and she quickly threw her cloak around the branch, sliding off it and over the fence, taking care that the cloak caught a branch to not simply send it flying back. Once she had her boots on the ground, she took care to check on the guards. All of them were still completely oblivious, no need for a deadly distraction like with the smugglers. She laid down in the grass and slowly crawled forward, the well-trimmed grass almost felt like needles in places, stinging where the fabric had given way after a hard landing or simply due to fatigue.


    She managed to reach the few steps leading up to the main building, when the door ahead opened and a young girl emerged, in a blue dress. The young girl¡¯s appearance straightened up the guards and they all resumed their patrols, trying to appear as if already on it. After a short exchange of words with the guards in turn, the girl went back inside the house.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Target now identified, in a blue dress with what could only be described as a philistine face¡­ She felt a little puzzled over the last bit of information, but decided that the child fit the description. With the main doors now under a somewhat tighter scrutiny, she decided to look for a window or any other alternative. She traced along the finely cut and recently washed marble making up the building¡¯s foundation until she found a small ventilation grate. The bars covering her entrance were wide and sturdy, but divided, leaving fairly big gaps. With just a little discomfort, she had managed to squeeze her half-starved body between the metal bars.


    Her immediate landing was in a stack of flour bags. Her slight, but still countable weight caused a great white cloud to spread across the room, blanketing every surface in white. In the darkness, she could barely make out the facilities and utensils of a well-equipped kitchen. She tried to brush away the flour, which had begun to mix in places with moisture picked up from moving through the grass. Suddenly, the door squeaked as it opened, and she quickly scrambled to hide, sliding in under what appeared to be a slaughter bench.


    From her hiding spot, she could make out the darkened silhouette of a small, infantile child. The child took a few wary steps into the darkness, hugging a small stuffed doll in small arms.


    ¡°Um, hello? Is there anybody there?¡± The child asked into the darkness.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter baby?¡± A voice, belonging to a woman, came from somewhere down the hallway beyond the kitchen.


    The child stood there for a bit, then held up the doll, as if scanning the room.


    ¡°Um, Melina says there¡¯s a person in the kitchen.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry baby, it¡¯s probably just a large rat in there, come back to bed?¡±


    ¡°Okay Mama¡­¡±


    The child wandered out of sight, leaving the door open. Immediately, she emerged from her hiding spot, brushing off the last of the brown, and cakey flour on her boots. The coast clear, she decided to press on. She quietly snuck out into the corridor, following it in the opposite direction and soon arriving at what appeared to be a winding staircase. The stairs seemed to go on for eternity, and by the time she reached the top, she had to suppress her ragged breath. She emerged into a large room, filled with expensive splendor. The windows leading out to a large balcony were all covered by red curtains. In the middle of the room was a dining table with meticulously carved models of dragons and warriors onto its sides. All sides lined with wooden chairs, with leather cushioning. Upon the walls surrounding a still-smoldering fireplace hung great portraits of rich and wealthy men and women, all bearing the same eagle regalia on their person. Her reverie was interrupted once again by a series of footsteps. In a flash, she had climbed into the fireplace, the hot ashes and smolders nearly catching onto the edges of her cloak.

 Chapter 7: Nobles

    The doors to the dining room flew open, and a group of four people marched into the room, shortly followed by a group of servants who began lighting the candles along the walls. The group gathered around the table and the rustling sound of paper being unfurled across it.


    ¡°Lord Darik, I assume you have a very good reason for assembling us this late¡­ I am sure we all have things to attend to¡­¡± One of the group, a stern-looking woman leaned over the table towards an equally opposing figure at the other side.


    ¡°I do Lady Urwalis, as you know, the policy reviews are coming up, and efforts to clear the streets of beggars and other miscreants have not yet yielded satisfactory results¡­¡±


    The woman banged her fist into the table. ¡°If you my lord would appropriate me the necessary funds and personnel, I¡¯d have covered that underground hellhole in cleansing fire thrice over by now!¡±


    ¡°Now now¡­¡± One of the others, a calmer gentleman smiled and raised his hands to bring them to silence. ¡°This isn¡¯t the time to throw blame¡­ Rest assured that measures will be taken to facilitate the cleansing of the sewers, at the lowest possible price. Even now we¡¯re looking for the appropriate candidates.¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°And how long, my good Lord Ferresyin do you estimate this recruitment drive will take? I suppose it would be a waste of breath to remind you we¡¯re on a tight schedule?¡±


    ¡°The last few¡­ Subjects are being gathered, and it is merely a question of how quickly they¡¯ll accept my proposals¡­ A few weeks, at most.¡±


    ¡°A few weeks!?¡± The others nearly shouted in disbelief.


    The discussion¡¯s intensity escalated further, until insults and threats flew as commonly as the wind. She remained still, having made a mental note of the people involved and their plans, but as it stood, she was stuck in a fireplace. For a moment, she considered moving, but she was beaten to it by a metallic clank and a sudden descent into nearly complete darkness. A metal gate had been closed over the mouth of the fireplace. She looked up. Far up above her she could see the sky, and a faint stripe of moonlight. In addition, as her eyes adapted, she could make out that the chimney stack she was in, was connected to several other fireplaces located on different floors of the mansion.

 Chapter 8: Awry

    She began jamming herself between the walls of the chimney, and slowly climbing upwards. It was tough going as her somewhat malnourished muscles strained to keep her from falling back down. Higher and higher she went, several times nearly giving in as the distance to the bottom increased. Soon, she felt certain that if she slipped, she would fall and die from the impact. She reached the first opening and tried to peer into it. Immediately, she felt the stinging pain of heat on her face and nearly slipped, sliding about half a meter down before stopping. With great effort, she managed to reach the next opening before her strength gave in. The opening felt cool and using the last of her strength, she climbed into the opening and slid down the short distance to the bottom, landing in a small heap of soot and ash, covering her completely. A moment¡¯s pause followed as her strength returned and her eyes adapted to the utter darkness of the room. Within moments, a door opened and a stripe of light flooded in. A young woman carrying a small candle entered. Her hair was long and well-kempt and the faint light shone on the expensive velvet dress, of sapphire blue. The woman shut the door and put the candle down on the nightstand, before starting to very carefully remove her dress. Soon she stood nude on the wooden floor, her skin soft and gleaming, the candle highlighting the gentle, adult curves of her well-fed, healthy body. She slid into a night gown, and laid down on the bed, before blowing out the candle.


    Inside the fireplace, the girl waited, and soon the soft noises of a person fast asleep filled the small room. She approached quietly, getting out the small pouch containing the Dullweed powder, and the pilfered dagger. With the swiftness and stealth of a cat, she began plucking the powder and holding it close to her nose. Though painstakingly slow, the effects soon became apparent as the woman began making soft moans and shifting in the bed. The last pinch of powder drifted into the woman¡¯s nose and the whole body gradually relaxed. In one swift motion, she slit the woman¡¯s throat, causing her eyes to fly open. Her body began to shake as her lungs filled up with blood, the half-soothed, half panicking motions soon gave way to stillness. Fresh warm blood began to stain the cotton bedsheet and pillow. The girl backed up slowly, wiping the tip of the dagger with a corner of the bedsheet and turned to get back into the fireplace.


    ¡°Hoy! Satelia! Are you awake! It¡¯s that time again, so why don¡¯cha¡­¡± The door flew open and two guards appeared in the doorway. Seeing the dust and soot covered person standing next to the bed where their target was lying, bleeding visibly on the bed, it took them a moment to process the sight. Seeking to exploit the advantage, the girl leapt forward, preparing to cut them both up with the dagger. The guard, taken momentarily aback, gathered himself up, and dodging the sweeping cut, clenched his big fist, and savagely punched the girl in her gut, stopping her cold, and sending her tumbling back, the dagger continuing on, flying into the opposite wall.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°Heh, you¡¯re way too early out for that boy¡­ Hey Gradenz! Look like we got ourselves a little torture toy!¡±


    ¡°Finally¡­ I was getting bored¡­¡± The other guard approached the girl, who was rolling around on the floor, trying desperately to breathe. He lifted her up by the neck and looked at the sooty face.


    ¡°Rather lean little kid¡­ Wait a minute¡­¡± He grabbed hold of her cloak and tunic, and with a surprising amount of strength, tore the worn fabrics to shreds, revealing a distinct lack of curves, but a budding, feminine build.


    ¡°Hohoh¡­¡± A wicked, disgusting grin began forming on the man¡¯s scarred, bearded face. ¡°Trazin! We¡¯ve got ourselves a little chicken! A dirty, deadly chicken.¡±


    ¡°Nice¡­¡± The other man named Gradenz, who had been examining the dead body of the woman named Satelia, looked up and flashed an equally disgusting grin. ¡°So, I guess I¡¯ll go first then eh?¡±


    ¡°Screw you¡­ I got my hands on her first¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, I was gonna have Satelia first! But she¡¯s dead, so I wanna be compensated!¡±


    ¡°¡­ Rock, paper, shears then¡­ First to three! One, two, three!¡±


    As soon as the men began their competition, the girl eyed her chance to escape his grasp. She tried desperately to loosen the grip around her throat, while kicking wildly, hoping to land a solid strike. Meanwhile the first round went in favor of the man named Gradenz.


    ¡°Shitty little brat¡­ You ruined my victory!¡± He then landed savage blow against the girl¡¯s gut, causing her to groan out, death panic starting to grab hold of her body.


    ¡°Now now¡­ What¡¯s this ruckus in the night?¡± The second round was interrupted by a voice from the doorway.


    ¡°¡­ Lord Ferresyin sir! We, uh caught this murderess here!¡± The man named Trazin roughly threw the girl to the floor. She landed on the floor with a crash, clutching her abdomen and trying desperately to breathe.


    ¡°I see¡­ And Satelia is dead?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir!¡±


    ¡°How unfortunate¡­ I suppose we should have to get a replacement for her¡­ Bring this one downstairs¡­ We¡¯ll see if she has what it takes.¡±


    The girl had barely got over the haze in her eyes and the lack of air in her lungs, when her world was thrown into darkness by a rough kick to her head.

 Chapter 9: Pain

    She woke up to an eerie darkness, and the sound of a fire burning. She felt something cold directly against the almost entire part of her front. Looking and slowly gaining her bearing, she realized she was nude and seated, chained to some large cold metal object.


    ¡°Oh, you woke up eh? Good on you, we were just about to begin.¡± The voice of one of the two men from earlier caused a spark of fear to expand within her. The man turned around, holding a blacksmith¡¯s tong in one hand, it in turn holding a red-hot lump of coal. He grinned, and dropped the coal into the metal object. Immediately, the heat caused the girl to scream.


    ¡°Not enough¡­ The sweet tone wasn¡¯t there¡­ Oh well.¡± The man picked up yet another lump of coal, and dropped it in, the temperature rose sharply in the metal, the heat forcing out yet another shriek of pain.


    ¡°So, who are you? What¡¯s your name kid? Don¡¯t wanna talk? Oh well.¡± Another lump of coal was unceremoniously dumped into the cauldron, and another. The heat of the metal began to sting, and burn marks began to form on her skin. She screamed her lungs out, but her struggles were merely met by yet another lump of coal, causing the metal to sear her skin and into her flesh. The pain soon caused her to black out.


    Her eyes opened sharply as a torrent of cold water was thrown on her body. Immediately, a small ventilation shaft was opened, and a cold wind entered the room causing her to shiver and huddle herself as her body warmth left her. One of the men entered with a metal pot of hot water.


    ¡°Here¡¯s some warm water, all you need to do, is to beg us¡­¡±


    ¡°P-please¡­ I¡¯m¡­ So, cold. Allow me to¡­¡± Her words were cut short by another wave of water, this time from the metal pot. The boiling water scalded her already bruised and hypersensitive skin. She tried to beg once more, but her whole body screamed in pain. One of the men approached her, raised her up by her arms clamped in chains. Once she was suspended in the air, he took a small flask of liquid, and despite her feeble protests, poured the content into her mouth. Immediately, her body convulsed, she let out a deafening scream as her eyeballs began shaking wildly, causing her sight to blur into the unrecognizable.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Do you feel it? This is some lovely Dullweed isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Immediately, she was thrown into what felt like a momentary darkness.


    She woke up. Almost every inch of her body felt like it was on fire. She felt her arms suspended above her, and the skin along her butt and hind legs felt a little cooler on the cold stone floor. She felt some fabric covering her eyes, its contact with the skin around her eyes causing her no small amount of pain.


    ''Crack''! Out of nowhere, the end of some sort of staff hit her on her head, causing her consciousness to drift momentarily. Whap! The next strike hit her directly on her cheekbone. Three more strikes impacted her, one flat over her collarbones, the second hit left a searing pain on her thighs, and the last strike once more impacted on her head. From the sound, whatever had been used to hit her had shattered, and soon she felt a hot trickle of blood flowing down from her head and into her eyes, further blurring the texture of the fabric covering her eyes.


    From under the rim, she could barely make out a pair of feet. She tried to focus on them, but lost sight of them as her head was violently thrown to the left by a hard impact. Her body would have hit the floor without her arms being chained up. She tried to blink but the pain only intensified. Her mouth began filling with the taste of iron, and she coughed several times, sending spurts of blood and teeth splattering against the floor. Another hit landed on her left, and once more, her consciousness faded.


    ¡°This is¡­ Hey¡­ Sweetie? Wake up¡­¡± She could her a strange voice from far away. Her body felt unresponsive, her vision momentarily blurred, then sharpened, then blurred back. In a moment, she caught a glimpse of a face riddled with concern and sadness.


    ¡°How awful¡­ What did they do to you?¡± She felt drawn to the voice. It felt sweet in her ears, and so strangely familiar. She tried to say something, but her jaw remained unresponsive.


    ¡°I will save you¡­ Somehow.¡±


    She felt the person touch the burnt, scalded and cut skin of her cheek. She felt no pain, rather a feeling of warmth, and¡­ Something familial? Her mind began to play tricks with her again.


    ¡°Believe in me sweetie¡­ I will save you¡­ Trust me. I¡¯m your friend¡­ I¡¯ll save you¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey! What are you doing here? Get away from her! She¡¯s evil!¡± A man¡¯s angry voice resounded throughout the room.


    ¡°No! She¡¯s just a child! I¡¯ll set her free!¡±


    ''Smack!'' The sound of a hand striking skin silenced the other voice.


    ¡°Now come along!¡±


    ¡°Trust me sweetie! I¡¯ll save you, I promise! I¡¯ll come back!¡±


    She heard the door close. She felt like crying. She wanted to shout back, to reaffirm this person that she wanted to escape. Desperation began to set in, but her body refused to move even a little. Her vision blurred out once more.

 Chapter 10: Salvation

    She had no idea how long it had been. How many days, weeks or months had gone by. To her, it was every day. Her body would be beaten, or tortured or abused in some new way. Whipping, beatings, scalding, burning, breaking, chipping, crushing, tearing¡­ Whenever her body wanted to cooperate, she had begged her captors for death, an end to the misery¡­ But every time afterwards, she would hear the gentle voice telling her to hang on, to believe. She loved the voice, and every moment awake, during every bit of pain and suffering, she would remember the voice, long for it and desire it. To be complimented, caressed and soothed, reaffirmed of her worth, praised for her resilience, and even at times, the voice would mend her wounds, close her torn skin, or bandage up her bruised body. Every time, the angry, violent man would remove the voice from her, only increasing her longing for the blissful moment of relief. Everything had blurred, her memories a sea of unclear images.


    She stirred, her whole body ached and felt cold except for thin trickles of blood running from her forehead, dripping onto her chest and running the length of her nude body. She vaguely remembered being beaten with an iron pipe. The blindfold was back on, and apart from her own ragged breaths, all was quiet.


    She wanted to stand, but her body refused to move. As she considered drifting back to sleep, she heard footsteps approaching. Her mind filled once more with dread; what sort of pain would she be subjected to this time?


    Her question remained unanswered. The door opened and from the sound of it, two pairs of booted feet entered the tiny cell.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    ¡°Congratulations you little murderer, it¡¯s time for you to leave this place.¡± The voice of a man she had no recollection of spoke, and she waited for the sharp pain, followed by that sweet, eternal darkness to consume her. Instead, the cuffs holding up her arms were opened, and her broken limbs dropped to the floor with a wet slap. Next, she felt a hot breath on her face, heard rope loosen around some pouch or satchel, and the feeling of some liquid being poured down her throat.


    In an instant, the thick haze made from her body numbing out the pain vanished, and she was shocked to feel nothing at all. No pain, no weight, a strange feeling of lightness took hold, and she felt convinced that she had died. One of the individuals picked her up in strong, hairy and burly arms.


    The cold of her small prison soon gave way to a very hot room, and under her blindfold, her damaged eyesight could make out a room, gently lit by a huge chandelier suspended from the ceiling. A moment later, she was placed on something soft, which she felt might engulf and suffocate her slowly if she remained still.


    ¡°Here you are madam¡­ Not quite sure why you have taken such an interest in this wretched little rat, but that¡¯s not my concern¡­ Pay up.¡±


    ¡°After putting this poor child through so much, I¡¯d ought to spend the payment on her treatment instead.¡±


    ¡°Madam¡­ Pay, up.¡± The man¡¯s voice darkened, and the sound of sharp weapons being readied broke the ensuing silence.


    ¡°Farsilden, please handle the payment.¡±


    ¡°Yes madam.¡±


    The strange feeling of being surrounded by a gentle softness, and a gentle warmth, sparked a strange, but at the same time, familiar feeling. Hope. Moments later she felt a different presence, and heard the voice she yearned for.


    ¡°Rest now child¡­ Rest and I will make you better.¡±


    With those words, the girl¡¯s mind fell into the darkness.

 Chapter 11: Restoration

    ¡°Good morning! It¡¯s time to rise and have a look at yourself!¡± A strange, upbeat voice caused her to upright herself with amazing speed. She looked around frantically trying to get her bearings and identify the source of the voice. The source turned out to be a tall and quite beautiful woman, standing in the doorway of the large room. The furniture and decorations appeared to be made from the most expensive of materials and wood. The sheets were silk, and the mattress made of some amazing material which was soft beyond anything she had ever felt before.


    ¡°I suppose it all must seem worrying, but I assure you, you are quite safe¡­¡± The woman approached the bed and pulled out a small chair from under it. ¡°I¡¯m Elistin¡­ But call me Elly¡­ What¡¯s your name? No, don¡¯t answer that¡­ I¡¯ll simply call you Firran for now.¡±


    The girl, now named as Firran nodded. She tried to move and shift, but her body remained in place, only her middle and index fingers on her left hand even wanted to respond. Her face felt unbalanced, as if something was weighing her down on her left side. Any further attempts to shift, caused her chest and belly to sting.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t move too much. To say the least, you¡¯ve got some broken bones¡­¡±Stolen novel; please report.


    She tried a few more futile attempts at moving, before resigning.


    ¡°Good¡­ I¡¯ll tell you a little about what my staff has done¡­ I mended most of your broken ribs, fingers and your legs¡­ Your skin is, permanently disfigured in places as it was too badly burnt to restore¡­ Um, what else¡­ Right. Your captors shattered part of your jaw¡­ We pieced it together, mostly, but we had to fill the gaps with amber¡­ We also sowed your mouth shut while it heals.¡±


    The revelations caused her no real concern. What was more interesting was why she had been saved. It was clear to her, Elistin was the voice of her savior. She had saved her from the torture. A hint of relief began to sweep over her, and the feelings towards her savior was rekindled.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine soon¡­ We¡¯ll loosen the threads when necessary, when you heal up properly, I¡¯ll talk to you again¡­ But please. Remember this.¡± Ellistin moved her surprisingly soft and lithe hand onto her own, fingering Firran¡¯s broken digits gently. ¡°I was threatened¡­ If you don¡¯t do as my lords demands... They will kill me¡­ Will you swear allegiance to me? So, that I may appease their ire?¡±


    She managed to incline her head just enough to make a barely visible nod. Her response was met with a gentle smile and some tears welling up in the corners of Ellistin¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Thank you¡­ I was right to place my faith in you¡­ You are truly a wonderful child.¡±


    Ellistin stood up and left the room. Her words still echoed inside of Firran¡¯s mind. To be praised, and offered words of affection¡­ She could think of nothing that would equal those words in value.

 Chapter 12: Rebirth

    She woke up, half expecting to find a hot iron waiting to be shoved into her skin, or the wet snap of a bone breaking. Instead she was met with a sensation of warmth, being wrapped tightly in a bedsheet, and sweating from every part of her skin that was not burnt shut from torture. Soon after, a maidservant entered the room, and without a word, washed away the sweat on her body with a wet cloth. She had subsisted on a strange, disgusting liquid fed to her through a rubber hose, a dainty butler watching her expressions with quiet amusement.


    Daily exercises involved getting some movement back into her limbs, checking the status of her mending bones and thorough health examinations. That was when she had caught the first glimpse of her body in the doctor¡¯s mirror: Her body had been thoroughly burnt from the ankle all the way up to her shoulder along her left side, the burnt skin¡¯s line frequently interrupted by streaks of burnt skin or minor puncture wounds extending further over the front and back.


    Some sort of branding had been done to her whole right shoulder. Made by an iron somehow fitted to her size, the brand looked like licks of flame, with the double angled daggers, the symbol of Acrypha imprinted in the center. Along her back, the signs of whipping were visible, deep gashes in her skin told the tale of a whip having in places torn flesh and skin away entirely. Her face bore spots of burns, and in some places where her skin had not completely closed, she could see the amber merged with her bone and skin.


    Soon, her scars were closed back in behind a layer of fresh bandages, and her pain soothed with a powerful concoction that somehow turned the pain into a funny tingle. Still on her high, she was brought back to her bedroom and put to rest.


    The next morning, the usual ritual continued, but unlike the previous day, she remained in bed. Soon Ellistin appeared, walking like something of a ghost, looking over her shoulders, eyes full of worry.


    ¡°Hi Firran¡­ I¡¯ll be brief. They¡­ Want you dead. I¡¯ve done what I can, but there¡¯s only one way to save you now¡­ You must get better. I will receive a set of very dangerous missions¡­ If you carry them out, they¡¯ll rescind your death sentence. Nod if you understand¡­¡±


    She nodded, which to which Ellistin displayed a hit of relief, before her expression once more darkened.


    ¡°They will be¡­ Dangerous, and you¡¯ll be required to kill. If you don¡¯t want to do it¡­ I can give you a swift and painless death, but not before I¡¯ve had mine¡­¡± She opened the palm of her hand, revealing two small copper capsules. ¡°Shroud poison¡­ Very effective, you won¡¯t feel a thing¡­ What will it be? Nod if you¡¯ll do what it takes¡­ Or shake your head if you desire death¡­¡±


    Without a hint of hesitation, she nodded. This was not Ellistin¡¯s fault, but rather those with more power. She was the voice that had soothed her pain and given her hope. With this resolve, she silently vowed to repay her generous kindness in full. She was willing to do what it would take.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to put you through it all, But with this, I can take your life into my hands and safeguard you¡­¡± Ellistin leaned in a very gently placed a kiss upon Firran¡¯s forehead. She then stood back up and hurriedly left the room, her step echoing with confidence in the room. A few moments later, the butler entered the room.


    ¡°I see you¡¯ve cheered my lady Ellistin up, well done. I believe I have not introduced myself properly yet: My name is Farsilden, I am the head butler of Lady Ellistin¡¯s estate, and also her personal bodyguard. It will be my duty to take your gutter-skills, and hone them into precise tools¡­ Lady Ellistin desires after all, that you meet your challenges with the best possible chance of survival¡­ But first, I¡¯d like for you to meet the people you will be cooperating with¡­ Enter!¡±


    The door opened, and four teenagers entered the room, all wearing the same anonymous attire made from pieces of leather and cloth wound snugly to minimize sound. Both sexes were equally represented, but the two shortest ones left some doubt, as apart from the slightly better proportioned, and taller two, the smaller two had any obvious features hidden behind leather sheets.


    ¡°From the right to the left¡­ Carys, Rein, Tilia, Indas¡­ Why don¡¯t you tell a little about yourselves to the newcomer? Her name is Firran.


    The tallest of the four stepped forth. ¡°I¡¯m Carys¡­ I don¡¯t really need to tell you anything, beanstalk¡­ You¡¯ll be dead soon enough¡­ But listen to my orders and you might live a little longer¡­¡±


    The other three rolled their eyes and sighed, and the second one, a tall, lean guy stepped forward, smiling and waving his hand dismissively.


    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to her, she said that to all of us, and yet here we are¡­ I¡¯m Rein by the way. I¡¯m the one who reads the letters and makes plans... And split the profits¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by the third one, a half-head shorter and the only one flashing a genuine smile.


    ¡°Watch him closely! Or he might cheat you out of your pay! I¡¯m Tilia, and I¡¯ll be something of your big sister! So, come see me if you need anything okay?¡±


    ¡°Little sis¡­ I, got some bad news for you¡­ She¡¯s a half-year older than you are¡­¡± Rein tried to conceal a gleeful smirk.


    ¡°Whaaaaaaat!?¡± Tilia¡¯s lower jaw looked like it would come off at any moment and fall right to the floor. For a second she worked frantically on collecting her jaw, and was left looking like a fish on land. After another quick outburst of vivid expressions, she finally mumbled: ¡°Big sister¡­¡±


    The last one remained in place, made some weird gestures with his hands, and shyly pulled his hood down over his eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s Indas, he¡¯s mute. He can hear really well, and can talk using his hands like you just saw. He said that he looks forward to working with you.¡± Rein¡¯s translation drew a slight nod from under the big hood.


    ¡°That takes care of introductions¡­ Welcome to the Shade Pentacle¡­ Now hurry back to your training children... Carys, I¡¯ll expect you to take the newcomer through the usual courses?¡± Farsilden threw Carys an expectant look, to which the girl nodded in response.


    ¡°Fine with me¡­¡± She mumbled, and led the others out of the room, followed closely by Farsilden.

 Chapter 13: Training

    She ducked, narrowly avoiding the thin needle bolts that zipped past her head. A single hit would be enough to bring her down. The next volley, she collected with a broken piece of wood lying in the sand. Her body felt unusually light, weaving between volleys of needles, ducking and jumping. She dedicated a split second to admire the power of a planned diet and the rigorous reconstitution. One of the animated swords swung towards her. The last time she had been cut, and this time she knew how it would strike. She quickly drew her short sword and deflected the incoming blow, sending the sword spiraling into a nearby pole. From the corner of her eye, she could see the lumber axe coming flying towards her. Using the sword, she sent the clumsily sweeping axe skyward, until it smashed against the roof.


    ¡°Okay, that does it for today¡­ Tilia, you need to keep your concentration, the axe represented more of a drunkard being loose in the streets¡­ And the sword had no control¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes sir¡­¡± Her sparring partner sighed and with a wave of her hand, called back the two weapons, which came floating towards her, allowing her to grasp them with ease.


    ¡°And you Firran¡­ Keep working on your movement. There are still some street urchin left in you. Your movement must be even more fluid, and in a real fight, you can¡¯t allow yourself to be pinned in a parry for even a second!¡±


    Farsilden¡¯s words stung. She was not used to being berated or instructed. Her work in the sewers had always been rewarded by a speech of praise, or simply dismissed, as a result of lack of prayer, or sacrifice. The feeling of being inadequate made her feel angry, and her expression warped as a result.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that look¡­ I know where you come from, and who held your leash before¡­ You should be grateful to Lady Ellistin.¡± His snarky comment made her feel even angrier, and she bared her slightly lacking row of whites to him in a snarl.


    ¡°Good. Now Tilia, why don¡¯t you explain the basic rules to Firran?¡±


    ¡°Yes sir.¡± The short girl nodded once and approached her, weapons still in hand. As soon as the butler was out of earshot, she grinned and threw the weapons away.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay big sister, don¡¯t let him get under your skin¡­ It¡¯s his way of hardening us. I respect your devotion to Lady Ellistin¡­ But you have to think of Farce as her left hand, whose job it is to watch over the right one; us.¡±


    ¡°Farce?¡± Her question was met by Tilia¡¯s wary eyes looking left and right in a hurry.


    ¡°It¡¯s his nickname, he really hates it. You could refer to him as the geezer or the old boot too¡­ But never do it to his face! He¡¯ll punch you.¡±


    She tried to stifle a giggle, even with her limited knowledge of words, it felt good to make fun of Farsilden behind his back. The deep animosity she felt lessened.


    ¡°Oh! So, you do smile! That¡¯s nice! You know, big sister Carys never smiles, no matter how hard I try, but you smiled just like that!¡±


    Without warning, Tilia jumped forward, wrapped her arms around her, and gave her a big bear-like grasp. Affectionate sounds and big smile in abundance. At first she nearly stumbled from the sudden addition of about her own bodyweight as the merry kid clung to her.


    ¡°Um¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, too early for hugs? Fine! But get used to it!¡±


    ¡°No¡­ It was nice, thank you.¡± Her perplexed expression was clearly visible, despite her best attempts to hide it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go wash up and get ready for dinner. Farce hates it if we¡¯re not punctual.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­ Is there any¡­ Whoa!¡± Before she could finish, Tilia had taken her hand and begun to drag her along at an unusually fast pace.

 Chapter 14: Objective

    ¡°Okay boys and girls¡­ This is our assignment¡­¡±


    The others were already gathered around a big round table by the time Tilia and Ferran arrived in the small closet-like space. The walls were covered in hand-drawn images of impressive detail and liveness. Connecting the various images were threads tied to small needle-darts upon which hung a sizeable stack of paper in places.


    ¡°Fashionably late again Tilia? Please Ferran, don¡¯t let her tardiness rub off on you¡­ Anyway, have a seat.¡± Rein sighed and resumed his briefing.


    ¡°This time, we¡¯ll be swapping out a file inside the Imperial Archive¡­ To do this, we need to first forge a file that we¡¯ll be replacing it with¡­ That¡¯s where you come in Ferran.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll lead us through the sewers, back to your former home¡­ We¡¯ll get the so-called priest there to make it.¡± He pointed to a map, apparently of the sewers and drew a line along one of the popular entry routes.


    ¡°We know how to get this far, but you¡¯ll be leading us.¡±


    She froze. A lingering doubt began to fill her mind. She had been taught to never lead any strangers to the hideout. Her words stumbled for a bit around in thinking sounds. A great many possibilities began to open up inside her mind. What if her parents had returned without finding her? Would the group kill them too if she led them there? And if they hadn¡¯t, what about the priest?¡±


    ¡°I guess I can? But¡­¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    With a sigh, Rein cracked his neck and pointed at a long line with a big x on the map. Clearly, he needed the door to be accessible and not closed. She remembered the sheer weight of the door and quietly nodded her agreement. After sharing the lesser details and handing out assignments, Rein called off the meeting and told everyone to remain on standby. She remained behind in the room, looking at the maps and trying to snap up every little bit of information she could from the jungle in her hand. After throwing a quick glance over her shoulders, she swore under her breath that one day she should learn to read. Her deep thoughts were suddenly interrupted by someone poking her back. She turned around to find Indas standing behind her. The little boy looked at her with quiet blue eyes.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Hi Indas, right? I¡¯m just looking at the maps¡­¡±


    She looked on as the boy took out a small crumpled note stained with ink. With surprising deftness, he scribbled down a response and held it up for her to look at.


    ¡°D¡­ Ne¡­ Ke¡­ Sorry, but I can¡¯t actually read¡­¡± Her earnest reply was met with a ridiculing grin from the boy who immediately proceeded to put away the piece of paper and wave his hands in a certain way.


    ¡°Huh? What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Simple Ferran, he¡¯s asking you if you¡¯d like him to teach you how to write.¡± Carys appeared in the doorway carrying a wooden lockbox under each arm.


    ¡°I¡¯d be very grateful if you could teach me¡­¡± She replied, a strange feeling of shyness overtaking her.


    ¡°Tsk, look at him when you speak, and enunciate¡­¡±


    ¡°Enunciate?¡±


    Carys sighed and put down the boxes on the map table with a sigh of disdain.


    ¡°Speak clearly¡­ Move your lips more and look right at him. He¡¯s not deaf, but his hearing is pretty bad on the right.¡±


    ¡°O-oh¡­ I am sorry, I will do my best to be clear¡­¡± She tried to make herself clearer, and from his expression, she had completely overdid it. He waved his hands a little in Carys¡¯s direction. The woman rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Too much, he said, and that¡¯s all I¡¯ll help you with¡­ Honestly, why are you even investing time in that little squirt?¡±


    With a frown, Indas began gesticulating furiously, and even Carys appeared to have to concentrate to catch every word of his sentence.


    ¡°That¡¯s not why! He¡¯s got nothing to do with¡­¡± With a rough chew, Carys bit her tounge, and a small trickle of blood soon appeared in the corner of her mouth. She threw her another angry look before marching out of the door. As soon as she had gone, Indas took out a small folded piece of paper and showed it to her. Depicted with incredible detail was Indas, Carys, Rein and Tilia together with another six others. In turn, Indas pointed to the other six in turn and made a gesture of a throat being slit. Arriving at the last one, he paused, pointed at Carys and puckered his mouth.


    ¡°Eww¡­ They were¡­¡± her sentence as interrupted by his quick unpuckering and putting a finger to his lips before making another gesture of having one¡¯s throat cut.


    ¡°She¡¯ll¡­ Kill me for saying it?¡±


    An affirmative nod followed quickly. He put the small piece away and gestured for her to follow him.

 Chapter 15: Homecoming

    ¡°This is it¡­ Behind that door is the place where the priest is.¡± They had made their way down into the sewers using a secret exit under the mansion. After crawling through a tunnel for a while they had emerged out into the city sewers. The still water smelled particularly putrid and even Ferran had to pinch her nose a little, and breathe with her mouth. Even so the sheer awfulness stuck to her tounge, causing her to gag.


    Rein, who sat at the head of their little line began to check his equipment. ¡°Quiet¡­ Now as I said on the way in¡­ Ferran will knock, be let in and jam the door. Once inside we¡¯ll take care of any guards and find this so-called priest.¡±


    She stood up, and walked over to the door, knocking it in a special sequence with the blunt end of her new, shiny dagger. A short silence followed before a small metal grate was warily opened from the inside.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there eh?¡± She remembered his voice as the guard who had pushed her outside to pull the sewage grate open.


    ¡°I¡¯m back¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh? You? By the jester¡¯s hairy arse, where have¡¯ya been?¡±


    His question was expected, she explained what had happened.¡±


    Without any further words, the grate was slammed shut and the door remained closed. She waited a little while before returning to the others. To her surprise, Rein appeared amused rather than angry. With a wave of his hand, Tilia¡¯s eyes flared up.


    ¡°Ohh, it¡¯s my turn now?¡±


    ¡°Send it to another district.¡±


    ¡°Ohohoh¡­ You always give me the best jobs big bro!¡± Tilia swung her backpack around and recovered a big lump of some strange material Ferran had never seen before. With a happy bounce, she went over to the door and while singing a merry tune full of love and gentleness, began to apply the lump onto the door. A short time later she came back dragging a piece of string behind her.


    ¡°Hey big sis! Do you want to try it? I promise! It¡¯ll be fantastic! And really loud too!¡± She offered her the piece of string.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ¡°Um, what do I do with it?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s easy, give it a really rough tug, and then cover your ears!¡±


    Rein raised a brow ¡°Uh, Tili are you sure you didn¡¯t use too much? We¡¯d like to be able to walk here afterwards¡­ And not bring the ceiling down on top of ourselves?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry big bro! It¡¯ll be fine, I¡¯m sure!¡±


    She gave the string a rough tug, and nothing happened.


    ¡°Harder!¡±


    She pulled it again, applying all her force and meagre weight into the tug. Immediately, a deafening explosion rocked the tunnel. A huge cloud of mortar and brick dust covered the tunnel, and a spray of brick splinters began pouring into the opposite wall. The biggest shower went straight past their small corner, but the dust soon caught the corner and covered them in a layer of brick dust. Her ears were ringing, and it felt like her whole world had slowed down. All she could hear was a distant whining noise as she tried to make out what the others were saying to her. After a short time, the sound came back to her as if it was somehow speeding towards her.


    Carys coughed and pulled her mask up over her nose and mouth. ¡°Tili¡­ You used way too much¡­¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! But it was so much fun! Let¡¯s go look at how big the hole is!¡±


    The older two exchanged charmed glances and nodded.


    Moving forward, it became clear that the explosion had been massive. The door had been blown in, taking a huge chunk of adjacent wall along with it. The opposite wall was a crumbling slope of bricks, rocks and dirt, sprayed with a thick layer of until recently undisturbed, concentrated sewage. The lumps of forlorn hope were sliding down the crumbling wall while the dust slowly began to settle and they rushed inside.


    With an excited tone, Tilia counted at least five different limbs sticking out from underneath the slightly bent door. Many of the people around were still in shock. Some scrambled for loved ones, while others were curled up, praying fervently. With a series of quick stabs, Carys finished off the remaining guard who was trying to scramble to his feet.


    ¡°So? Where¡¯s the man?¡±


    ¡°That way¡­¡± She pointed them towards the back rooms and she, along with Rein and Carys headed for it, leaving Tilia and Indas behind to guard the doorway.


    ¡°Hey Indas¡­ Let¡¯s play sit on it!¡±


    ¡°Huh? You don¡¯t want to? But I do!¡±


    ¡°Tilia¡­ Don¡¯t kill them all just yet, we still have work to do¡­¡± Carys sighed.


    ¡°Alright!¡± Came the reply. As they crossed the dusty room, people began scrambling away from them. From behind, she could hear Tilia¡¯s laughter, then a series of panicked screams, followed by the sound of flesh being torn apart by small explosions. A wet splatter sound followed by a collective shriek of fear. She decided to not look back.


    The back door was firmly closed, but with one solid kick, Rein sent the rusty hinges, together with the door itself, crashing to the floor. Within was even darker, and he lit a nearby torch to provide them some basic light. In the corner, huddled together with the holy icon, was the priest.

 Chapter 16: Truth

    They approached the priest, who began railing against them in fear, cursing and damning them. Promising death and suffering at the hand his god. Carys walked up to him, tore the icon from his hands and tossed it across the room, shattering the sand dry wooden statue.


    ¡°Now listen here¡­ You¡¯d better cooperate fully, or we¡¯ll show you what¡¯s happening outside this room.¡±


    ¡°Y-yes! Please! I¡¯ll do whatever you want! Just¡­ Spare me!¡± The priest, bereft of his holy insurance fell to the floor and desperately tried to kiss their feet. Carys gave him a kick to the face.


    ¡°Now get to work¡­ I need you to forge us a file. You¡¯ll write it exactly as we say, and if you try to sabotage it¡­ Well.¡±


    ¡°N-no no! I¡¯ll help you!¡±


    She looked around the dim lit room. This was her first time inside the inner sanctum. Despite its name, it was not what she had expected. By how the priest described it, it was a room of plenty, of splendor and the purest form of gift from his almighty god. But here she saw only a run-down room. The torch had revealed the presence of several other doors. She pulled open the closest one, and immediately, a stack of books flooded out, covering the floor around her. The titles escaped her, but judging by the covers, she felt certain they contained some form of religious scripture. With one room, secure, she continued further down to the next one. The terrible stench emanating through the splintered wooden door revealed itself to be coming from a makeshift latrine. Even in the darkness, the distinct lack of shape possibly due to a lack of fibrous diet stained the floor and the wooden hatch from which the stench seeped out into the room.


    Behind the third door was a dimly lit room with a stone slab placed in a slight depression in the center of the room. The depression was filled with blood from about a dozen throat cut men, whose corpses littered the floor. The slab was surrounded by signs and images on the wall, looking like those she had made out from the books. The room smelled of something burning. Upon the slab laid a still bleeding corpse of a young woman. Her abdomen was cut open and her innards had been removed. From the contorted face, it was clear she had suffered for a long time. She looked around and soon found the woman¡¯s intestines burning on one of the rusty braziers.


    She gave the corpses a cursory inspection, and soon found a small copper ring on the finger of one of the male corpses. The ring refused to move. She broke the fingerbone clean with a wet snap, and cut the finger off with a knife shoved into the throat of the next corpse. She then effortlessly slid the ring into her belt pouch. The ring on the woman¡¯s finger got the same treatment.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Oh¡­ What a monster.¡± Rein walked into the room, surveying his surroundings with a strange sense of curiosity. She nodded to him and he drew her attention to one of the images on the wall. He explained to her the meaning of some of them, and gave her a quick introduction into surgical cuts. As soon as he finished his lesson, Carys entered the room.


    ¡°We got it¡­ Time to go.¡±


    ¡°Sure. What about all this?¡±


    ¡°Blow it up.¡±


    ¡°Sis, sometimes, you just have the best ideas¡­ I¡¯ll fetch Tilia and get on it.¡±


    She left the room to return to the priest. He had been chained up in a neat little package. Around his feet had formed a puddle of his own piss. She decided to ask him about her parents. Despite his best attempts, the priest refused to tell her anything.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s best not to think about it Ferran, but if you really want to know, I¡¯ll help you.¡±


    Carys knelt beside the priest, took out a small flask and forced the content down the priest¡¯s throat. He coughed and hacked but was unable to prevent the liquid from entering his body. After a short while of writhing and gargling. He became quiet.


    ¡°Ask him what you want to know¡­ But you may not like it.¡±


    She nodded and asked about her parents. The priest told her that they had suddenly turned up with her. They promised to return and had paid a small amount of coins to smooth him over. He had accepted her. The months had gone by and nobody had come for her, so the priest had decided to put her to work. He had been pleased with her dedication, and efficiency. The session ended with the priest expressing genuine sadness that she had betrayed him.


    ¡°I hope that was worth it.¡± Carys sighed.


    She shook her head. The priest had not told her anything useful. A hint of sadness filled her heart, as the longing for her parents made itself known within her. Carys held out her hand and she took it, standing up.


    ¡°Okay, we¡¯re all set to go!¡± Tilia appeared in the doorway wearing a big grin and holding a small cube in her hand.


    She left the room, and emerged out to find a completely changed main room. Across the floor was a sea of dismembered bodies and a sea of blood. A few were still alive, clutching stumped arm sockets or trying desperately to comfort their dying loved ones.


    ¡°It was fun you all! But now we have to leave! I left you a little present¡­ Hope you enjoy it!¡± Tilia smiled and waved as walked out. Once they were a little bit further down the tunnel, she took out a small pastel-colored box and put the cube into a socket underneath it.


    ¡°Okay! We¡¯re all set! Ferran? Want to try it?¡±


    ¡°What do I do?¡± She studied the box curiously.


    ¡°Just turn the hand-crank a few times and see!¡±


    She began turning the crank, and the box began producing music which felt vaguely familiar to a child¡¯s lullaby. The music built up steadily, and suddenly, the lid flew open and a small troll figure bounced out. What followed was a deafening explosion followed by a wave of heat emerging from the underground refuge. The sewer walls trembled and a deafening crash signaled that the refuge had been buried completely in the rubble. Tilia put the troll back in and put the box in her now significantly lighter pack with a satisfied smile.

 Chapter 17: Archive

    From outside, the Imperial archive loomed menacingly over her. Despite an exterior which reflected the splendor of the Empire, she could feel the ludicrous amounts of letters hidden within crawl up her back. On the way, Rein had described it as the center for all the darkest secrets, hidden deep within a vault buried beneath the city. Standing outside, she noticed how they stuck out like a plagued thumb. Immediately, her senses began to peak, as she felt a strike could land at any moment.


    ¡°Plan you guys. Me and Carys will be at the front, asking for a file we know is in the same sector, and suggesting we were told it is missing. Meanwhile, Tilia, Ferran and Indas, you¡¯ll be following the guards down into the vault¡­¡± Rein handed them each a small pack containing what appeared to be a kind of break-in toolkit.


    ¡°Indas will find the correct file, Tilia, you¡¯ll be creating some minor disturbances, while Ferran, will cover for Indas¡­ Any questions?¡±


    ¡°Oh! Oh! Me!¡±


    ¡°What is it Tili?¡±


    ¡°Can I blow up some people?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ It¡¯s a vault, an old, dusty and crumbling vault¡­ So no.¡±


    ¡°Awhh!¡± While Tilia complained, felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head just in time to see a furious volley of gestures from Indas.


    ¡°He says he¡¯s counting on you, and asking if, you¡¯re ready to go?¡± Carys translated with a bit of a scowl. Out of the two, she was easily the one feeling the most uncomfortable: Dressed in a maidservant¡¯s garb, complete with a while frilled apron and even lacquered shoes, the pure white and black only enhanced the experience of her furiously tomato-tinted face. To her side was Rein, looking smugly spoiled and of a high rank in some well-off household. She found the sight rather amusing, and as they began splitting up, she decided to tell Carys what she thought.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°I think you look nice.¡± Her words were met by a bothered ¡®hmf¡¯ from Carys, that despite its worded content, sounded just a slight bit happy.


    She followed Indas in behind the building, followed by Tilia. A small back door led into a small room behind the main counters. He peered around, and pointed towards a metal grate. She tried to reach for it, but it was out of her reach.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Ohh... Ferran, could you bend down a little? Indas wants me to climb onto your shoulders. She bent down, and Tilia jumped on her shoulders. Her weight reflected her slight appearance perfectly. She raised her up and after some careful application of cloth and lifting the grate with a chisel, she slid it silently into the canal.


    They climbed up and into the canal and crept around for a while until they came across a grate, providing a good view of the main hall. Rein and Carys had already reached the front counter and were dominating the man manning the post. The poor man appeared to be faltering.


    ¡°Now we¡¯re supposed to wait¡­ Let¡¯s hope they¡¯ll send someone down just to make sure.¡±


    Down below, the man appeared to be losing ground fast. He called for someone to take over, excused himself and left through a door in the back.


    ¡°Ooh. And there he goes, let¡¯s follow him.¡± Tilia gently pushed her forward from behind.


    The small group of infiltrators continued down the duct, and soon reached what appeared to be an entryway to a cellar of some kind. Down below, their mark was negotiating the few steps down to the door, where two heavily armed guards stood silently. As he approached, the guards crossed their heavy halberds, blocking his path. The man made a gesture, and the guards returned their weapons to attention. He inserted a small key into a nearby keyhole, and the working sound of well-lubricated lockwork began to click and hum from somewhere close by.


    Almost without a sound, the large metal doors swung open.


    ¡°Neat trick¡­ You know, I¡¯d like to tamper with it someday¡­¡± Tilia grinned while producing a pair of strange metal object from her pack.


    ¡°And those are?¡±


    ¡°My very own marionette contraption! Soon as that guy finishes staring at the doorway¡­ I¡¯ll show you how it works.¡±

 Chapter 18: Tools of Trade

    After a moment of marveling at the progress of metal engineering, the man walked through the doorway. Soon the heavy doors closed shut behind him.


    ¡°Okay¡­ So, this is how it works¡­ You unfold it like so¡­ And you can use it to control people that are either dead or¡­ You know, no fun if they¡¯re not dead¡­ Anyway, it¡¯s so their bodies remain upright, or sitting, pondering, or even sniffing their own asses¡­ Which is hilarious by the way.¡±


    ¡°How will we get them dead from up here?¡±


    ¡°You know Ferran, I really like that you always ask the right question at the right time! We¡¯ll use this little gift wrap here¡­ I¡¯m so proud of it, but Carys says that using what she calls biological weapons is very bad form¡­ Eh who cares right?¡±


    A short pause followed.


    ¡°What do you mean chemical weapon? Huh? Well¡­ No, it isn¡¯t a live substance¡­ Whatever¡­ The point is it¡¯s fun to use.¡±


    ¡°So, it won¡¯t kill us?¡±


    ¡°Nah¡­ It¡­ uh usually evaporates quickly, but here Ferran, just in case, put on this mask¡­ You too Indas, since I really care about you two!¡±


    She put on the mask, which felt strangely damp to the touch. Tilia opened the small gift wrap, and very gently handed her a glass marble roughly the size of an adult thumbnail. She then crawled over to Indas, who had positioned himself above the guards and prepared a pair of small holes. She passed one metal stick to Indas, and then motioned for her to drop the


    The marble shattered upon contact with the floor. At first, nothing happened. Then, simultaneously, the guards began coughing behind their helmets. Immediately, Indas and Tilia pushed the metal rods through the holes. They fell straight down, and impacted with the floor. The two guards seemed to shudder momentarily, and then remained perfectly still.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s beautiful¡­ A flawless execution in the literal sense of the word¡­ Now we just need someone to open the door¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh? But we¡¯ll lose the guy.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s the flaw you know¡­ I mean, the whole archive is probably warded and sealed, so only way in is through the door¡­ That said¡­ Take this tube, and be careful not to inhale through it. Leave your mask on until I nod. Then aim it at the keyhole.¡±


    Suddenly, the door at the other end opened, and two apparently high-ranking officials entered the room.


    ¡°Huh? Oh heavens¡­ It smells like feces in here!¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Who knows, maybe one of the guards did it¡­Hey? Any of you responsible for this?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t waste your time, they¡¯re under strict orders not to talk, just get out your key and let¡¯s go through.¡±


    The two officials approached. Like the first time, Indas and Tilia expertly moved their fingers, and the two dead soldiers crossed their weapons, barring the doorway. One of the officials presented a badge, and they immediately made their puppets return their weapons.


    With the same smooth movement, the doors swung open and the officials walked through the opening. Tilia nodded. She took off her mask, aimed the tube at the keyhole and sharply exhaled.


    A short pause was followed by a strange, foam-like substance, pouring out of the keyhole and solidifying.


    ¡°Oh, good shot, couldn¡¯t have done it better myself! Except that one time, anyways! Let¡¯s get down there quickly!¡±


    They silently climbed down a rope Indas threw down. And soon, she could look at the two guards. What seemed to be knives, were impaled into various points of their bodies. She could only imagine the sharpness, as they had gone clean through metal armor meant to withstand sword blows. Tilia meanwhile walked over to the keyhole, and gingerly pried loose the foam block, vaguely shaped like a key.


    ¡°So lucky! The lock parts remain pressed in as long as the door moves. Now all we have to do is¡­¡± Tilia put the keylike block back and turned it. The mechanism immediately responded, and soon the doors slid open.


    ¡°See? Worked like a charm¡­ How about I get a reward for my trouble?¡±


    She wondered what Tilia might like as a reward, but in the end, she merely patted her on the head. Her wide smile told her that she had been right to do so.


    ¡°We¡¯re like sisters you and I¡­ We understand each other so well! Now let¡¯s go explore this place!¡±

 Chapter 19: Blending In

    Beyond the doors were a vast cave, dug out of the solid rock. Roughly cylindrical in shape and lit by torches, making the deep hole look like the night sky, with torches acting as the stars. Dozens of scribes were busy roaming the archives, writing in large books and moving the same about.


    ¡°Can you see the guy we were looking for?¡± Tilia asked. She shook her head.


    ¡°Guess we¡¯ll improvise again¡­ Let¡¯s just sneak further down for starters¡­ Bedtime stories say that the item you want is always at the very bottom of the cave, or enemy fort, so that¡¯s probably true here too.¡±


    They continued down along one of the paths, ducking into the large slots in the wall that housed dozens of bookcases. Suddenly, a voice broke the relative silence.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the file concerning the Ervelse conspiracy? Standard procedure.¡± From below, they could see a small podium. On it, their target was speaking into a fixed metal cone, which made his voice loud enough to be heard all the way down the archive. The man looked over the edge, nodded to himself and began making his way downwards.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we can follow him¡­ Too many people down there.¡± She whispered, and Tilia nodded.


    ¡°Plan B2 it is then¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°We kill them all quietly.¡±


    ¡°I have a better idea. Clothes over there.¡±


    ¡°¡­ Oh¡­ Oh, okay!¡±


    A short while after, a scribe was walking down the steps. She had agreed to be the bottom half, and was carrying Tilia on her shoulders. The wool cloak kept her hidden, and the hood concealed most of Tilia¡¯s childish features.


    ¡°Much further?¡±


    ¡°Nah, he¡¯s just a short way ahead¡­ You know, playing dress up is kind of fun occasionally, we should do that sometime, I bet you¡¯d look stunning in a priestess garb.¡±


    ¡°The list of things we need to do is steadily growing¡­¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s why I like you Ferran, you always keep your promises¡­ Wait here a bit, he¡¯s talking to some other guy¡­¡±


    She could barely hear some murmuring from up ahead. She peeked outside the cloak, found a nearby row of bookcases and swiftly walked over to it, pretending to search for a specific volume.


    "We''re close, let''s continue...

 Chapter 20: Escape

    By use of their disguise, they managed to descend the steps without catching any attention, slowly trailing behind their target. It took a while before she began to feel the strain of Tilia on her shoulder. Though she was light herself, her gadgets and devices all weighed and she found herself straining to keep upright. The thick cloak making her sweat furiously.


    ¡°Much further?¡±


    ¡°Nah, just up ahead¡­ Our mark is complaining¡­ And being a little ass about it too¡­ Now he¡¯s being shown the file, so just go forward a little bit, and¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, what do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± A voice made her stop, and a moment later she swiftly turned on her heels towards the voice.


    ¡°Plan b, take this needle, and when I count to three, just thrust it forwards, he¡¯s within reach.¡±


    ¡°Lost your tongue? Who are you anyway?¡±


    ¡°Three.¡±


    She quickly thrust the small needle out between the fold of the cloak, the metal meeting flesh. Tilia flipped around on her shoulders and two dull thuds followed soon after.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone saw that, but let¡¯s hurry up¡­ Could you drag these three in behind that bookcase over there while I look for the file?¡±The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    The two began their work. A while later, Tilia returned carrying a small paper folder.


    ¡°Now we need to get out¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s put on the disguise again then¡­¡±


    ¡°Nah. The mission is accomplished, it¡¯s been way too long since I made something go boom¡­ I have some flash powder here. Let¡¯s disguise ourselves, and then, if we¡¯re spotted, I¡¯ll use the powder¡­ Just remember to completely shield your eyes¡­ It¡¯s pretty bright.¡±


    They hurried back up the steps, using the shadows to keep out of sight. Their progress soon coming to a halt, as about a dozen people had gathered together to eat. Up above, the cooking fires began to be gently fired inside metal stoves, and soon the lovely smell of food began to fill the empty space.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think we can get through¡­¡±


    ¡°Nope, I think so too.¡±


    ¡°You just want to use that powder.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you?¡±


    She looked at Tilia, and smiled. ¡°I do¡­ So, go ahead.¡±


    ¡°First, a diversion¡­¡±


    Tilia stood up, took out the small cylinder, and pressed a small cork at the top before throwing it out into the empty space of the archive.


    ¡°Look! There in the middle!¡± She shouted, and a moment later a blinding flash bathed the entire archive in a bright light. Even though she had her eyes closely shut, and covered with her hands, her vision momentarily flashed with white.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go.¡±


    They hurried up the steps. Around them, scribes and archivists alike were clutching their eyes, and wandering aimlessly around, trying to get their bearings in their blindness. Up above, a few people had stumbled over the edge, and screaming in terror, they fell to the bottom of the archive, finally smashed against the rock bottom.


    ¡°Ah well¡­ At least there¡¯s some collateral¡­ No fun otherwise.¡± Tilia shrugged and pushed the foam key into the lock. After a few seconds, the doors opened, and they hurriedly ran to the rope Ferran threw down to them.


    ¡°Yeah Ferran, I got the right file¡­ No, we weren¡¯t recognized¡­ Eh, a few people may just have died¡­ But we should get going.¡±

 Chapter 21: Off-time

    ¡°Well done all of you. With the file successfully replaced, I can finally begin to expose my target. I think a little time away for you will be for the best. I¡¯ve arranged a little surprise for you¡­ Carys?¡±


    ¡°Thank you, mistress.  We¡¯re going to go see Varsylos.¡±


    ¡°Yaay!¡± Tilia shouted with excitement.


    ¡°Shh¡­ We¡¯re going to go help him with a problem of his¡­ For those who¡¯ve been there, his place is rather¡­ Entertaining, so bring what you feel is necessary¡­ No explosives.¡± She hurriedly added, which caused the previously jubilant Tilia to jeer.


    ¡°Who¡¯s Varsylos?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s like the greatest trader of all time! He¡¯s the one who¡¯ve made almost everything in my inventory! Well except the explosives, I made those by accident. And he¡¯s also a serious shut-in guy so nobody¡¯s able to glean any information from him¡­ Except, for us! He¡¯s an inventor, trader, smith and former assassin too!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right Indas, he¡¯ll take a liking to Ferran for sure.¡± Rein smiled, he too looking positively thrilled.


    ¡°But we¡¯re only staying a few days. And if the work we¡¯re doing for him takes time, we¡¯ll have to pass on the entertainment, remember you all, work first¡­ Relaxing afterwards.¡± Carys handed the word back to Ellistin.


    ¡°Do enjoy yourselves. I¡¯ve got another big job coming up soon, but the opportunity will require some ripening first. Rein, could you see me in my office later?¡±


    ¡°Yes Mistress.¡±The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Good, now go get packed. Also, leave all your gear behind, thanks to that little intrusion into the archive, the guards are extra vigilant. Go in civilian clothes, and do try to dress for the season?¡±


    Before she could utter a word, Tilia had grabbed hold of her sleeve and practically pulled her with her. She followed her back to her room and was firmly placed on Tilia¡¯s bed.


    ¡°Now listen here Ferran¡­ The place we¡¯re going to is deep in the mountains. It¡¯s got plenty of lovely snow and even hot water coming out of the rocks!¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­ But why did I have to come to your room for that?¡±


    ¡°¡­ No idea. I just got so excited! Anyway, I want you to help me out. Because I can¡¯t just leave all my things behind¡­ I need to bring at least some firework, so will you help me out? I just need you to carry this cylinder¡­¡± Tilia walked over to her closet and pulled out an arm-sized cardboard cylinder, which seemed quite heavy.


    ¡°How would I even begin to take that along?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re smart¡­ You¡¯ll find a way, right? I mean I once carried a pouch of crackling dust in my¡­¡± Tilia¡¯s smile faded and she quickly shook her head.


    ¡°Anyway, just figure it out okay! Here, now go pack!¡±


    She nodded and left the room carrying the cylinder.


    Once inside her own room, she shut the door. Where Tilia kept a lot of items of all kinds in every crammable space of her room, her own remained desolate. Furnished with a bare minimum; A desk, a bed, a closet for her clothes and weapons of choice. She put the cylinder down and peeked inside it. The content appeared powdery, and she decided to keep it inside, concluding it was some ingredient for explosives. Some knocking on her door had her scrambling to hide the item.


    She opened the door to find Carys standing outside.


    ¡°Hi¡­ Can I come in?¡±


    She nodded. Carys was carrying a backpack in her hand and entered her room, looking around.


    ¡°You need to add some things to this room¡­ It¡¯s sad.¡±


    ¡°I like it this way.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ Anyway. Every fiber in my body is telling me not to, but you can have this¡­¡± She handed over the backpack, which turned out to be very heavy.


    ¡°What¡¯s in it?¡±


    ¡°Stuff¡­ Things you¡¯ll need for the trip¡­ Some items that I don¡¯t use anymore...¡±


    Um, thank you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ By the way¡­ If Tilia tries to push you into anything¡­ Never mind. Just be outside when you¡¯re done.¡±


    Carys turned on her heels and quickly left her alone in her room.

 Chapter 22: Varsylos

    It was late next evening when they finally arrived. She stepped out of the cramped space and stretched her legs. Despite frequent stops, every little bump in the at times, not quite up to standard roads had left her body sore and hurting. From the cramped city, the scenery had changed into a wilder, and more empty landscape. And not an ounce of snow to be seen. Behind her, a ruckus continued as Tilia was loudly protesting.


    ¡°Where¡¯s my snow!?¡± This isn¡¯t at all what I was hoping for!?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°What do you mean snow is only in winter!? I want it right now!¡±


    ¡°Zip it Tili¡­ Alright, we¡¯ll continue on foot from here, it¡¯s only a short¡­¡±


    A loud explosion caused the horses nearly to run off with the carriage. Some ways up the side of the valley, an explosion sent a small rockslide crashing down to the valley floor.


    ¡°Looks like he¡¯s busy as always.¡± Carys, who had caught the horses mumbled, and kept them steady while Rein took their belongings off the carriage.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go find him¡­¡± Tilia, who still seemed disappointed, had brightened up considerably as her favorite thing had just left a crater in the rocks.


    A small dirt path led up towards a big house on top of a small mound in the valley. It looked so out of place that she was left wondering whether someone had made the hill with rocks and earth by shovel, or if the person they were meeting had somehow shaped the ground with some other interesting means.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Up ahead, a tall, coat-wearing man with a well-kept beard appeared out the front door of the house. In a flash, he seemed to close the distance to them, running at incredible speed down the less than entirely flat road. Up close, it was apparently his clothes were dirty, covered in axel grease, and what had to been smeared on his clothes, he seemed to have added to his hair.


    ¡°Hahaha! Did you see that Tilia!? I finally did it! I replicated your clay-like explosive! Oh yeah! Who¡¯s the best huh!?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ Is¡­ He for real?¡± She asked Carys who already had her face buried in her hand.


    ¡°Yes. Yes, he is¡­¡±


    ¡°Nah, it had too much flames, and waaayyy too little actual¡­ Oomph? Better luck next time old-timer!¡± Tilia flashed the man a smug smile, which caused him no end of irritation.


    ¡°Wait. You there! Who are you!?¡± Before she could blink, he had almost pushed his face into her own. She soon felt his hands pinching her cheeks and touching her hair.


    On reflex, she delivered a clenched fist to his abdomen, which caused him to stagger back, heaving for breath. Realizing her mistake, she was about to apologize.


    ¡°Ohh¡­ Feisty! Measured in response¡­ Just the right kind of savagery¡­ You, I like you! What¡¯s your name child?¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­ Back up Varsylos¡­¡± Carys stepped in between them, her right arm held as if shielding her. ¡°This is Ferran¡­ She¡¯s new to our group¡­ Ferran this is Varsylos¡­¡±


    ¡°- The genious, master craftsman, winner of many trophies for the benefit of the Empire, purveyor of the finest of arts, a buyer, a seller extraordinaire¡­¡± he bowed deeply.


    ¡°And just a little bit crazy.¡± Tilia whispered to her with a snicker.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you! Now let¡¯s not just stand out here, come inside! I¡¯ve had your rooms prepared, and the little thing I need help with, we¡¯ll discuss it over some warm food and beer!¡±

 Chapter 23: Metal Tube

    A whole day passed with them being shown around by Varsylos. His workspace housed a wide variety of impressive contraptions, and not all of them appeared to be entirely stable. She had expressed some interest in a pair of shoes which he had explained were noise dampened. Throughout the whole tour, Varsylos kept on pestering Tilia for her explosive recipe, but received naught but gleeful rebukes. His workshop, outwardly just a big house of some status, hid underneath it a large underground tunnel which served as the main workshop.


    "So what exactly are we here for?" Carys posed the question as Varsylos finished up an explaination of some spyglass-like item.


    "I''m about to test the best, most lethal weapon in the world... It''ll revolutionize the way we kill each other, and I want you all to test it for me, and protect it against national spies while I conduct the tests and then melt the project."


    "Is it explosive!?" Tilia jumped up and down with excitement.


    "It''ll blow your mind... Of course, it will be much more effective with your explosive compound..."


    "Which you won''t get so hah!" She stuck out her tounge.


    "So where is this weapon?" Rein looked around and gently lifted the tarp to peek under the nearest project."Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "It''s deeper in the tunnel... This way."


    Varsylos led them down through a hidden trapdoor concealed behind a bronze statue of what appeared to be a dragon. He carefully lit a small lamp and guided them through tight, moist tunnels until they stopped before a metal door. He put a key in the lock and the well-greased door swung open. To Ferran, the door reminded her of the large doors they had penetrated back in the archive. Behind the door was a large, long hall. Light was provided by securely sealed lamps, and the floor had been cleaned spotless. In the middle of the hall stood a tarp-covered object, and on a table next to it, a set of smaller, covered objects.


    "This is some place you have here..." Rein whistled.


    "It used to be some old ruin, I, freshened it up a bit... Now please, observe."


    He walked over to the big, covered object and pulled away the tarp. Beneath was a long, big and thick metal tube, secured by large bolts to a metal mounting. Some sort of screw on cap sat on their end.


    "So... What''s this metal straw for?" Tilia made a scoff. "It doesn''t even seem remotely dangerous."


    "Watch."


    He walked over to the metal tube. After some pulling, got the large grooved end open. He went over to a small sealed box and took out a round package and a grooved metal cone. He rammed both into the tube, sealed the back end and told them to stand back.


    "Now look at that nice brick wall over there... Oh, and use these earplugs... You young people might go deaf. Go stand over in that corner there, in case I haven''t bolted it well enough to the floor."


    "What happens if it explodes?" Her question made him smile.


    "Then we all die."


    Using his fingers, Varsylos counted down, and then pulled a string attached to the metal tube...

 Chapter 24: Wallbreaker

    Nothing happened. She looked at the metal tube, which sat perfectly quiet and still on its mounting. The others too began to look at it with a disappointed expression, except for Tilia, whom burst out laughing.


    "That''s it!? Varsylos... Varsylos! I am disappointed!" Tilia pulled out her earplugs.


    "Shut it! It''s merely a small malfunction! Just wait, it''s a... Delayed action! Yes that''s it! Just, give it a little bit..." He walked over to the tube, and began looking it over. After a cursory inspection, he picked up a large metal hammer, and pounded the spot where the thread was attached.


    A deafening explosion erupted out the fore end of the metal tube, the small brick wall was shattered and at the very back of the big hall, there was a deafening thud as the projectile bore through the sand pile and struck the wall behind it.


    She clutched her ears. Despite still using the earplugs, her senses were momentarily muddled by the sound. The sound had caught the others off balance as well and they too reeled from the unsuspected explosion.


    "Haha! I did it! It happened!" Varsylos jumped around, looking ecstatic. "I''ll add another title to my name now... It shall be... Builder of metal tubes of death... No... Creator of wallbreakers!"


    "Fine... I''ll admit... That was really cool."


    "I told you! Now, if you''d only give me your recipe..."


    "No. It''s powerful enough... My explosive would probably rupture it, and shower us with massive metal splinters..." Tilia shrugged.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "You''ve outdone yourself Varsylos... But I''m curious about your other items..." Rein stood looking at the smaller, thinner metal tubes, apparently braced with some sort of wood body, and secured with reinforced bands.


    "Sure sure, I''ve prepared these small packets for you to use. It contains my explosive, and a small metal ball, just insert it into the end of the tube like so... And shove it home with this little rod here... He quickly loaded up one of the weapons and presented it to Rein, whom accepted it eagerly.


    "Now, who wants to try the other one... Hm, how about you? Ferran. This should be just your size... Kind of!"


    She stepped up and he handed her the weapon. It felt very heavy, and she had problems trying to find a right balance for it.  She was quickly shown how to load it, and finished up by pulling back a small spring driven piece of metal with a small hole in it.


    "Now for the firing..." He took out a small vial, and passed them each a small glass bead with a blue fluid inside of it. "This is the firing solution, put it into the hole there... Just like that. When you pull that trigger, it will be pushed into the tube, where it will be punctured, and the fluid will pour over the charge and fire it. Expect a little delay here too..."


    He then walked over to a small locker and retreived two pieces of dried meat which he hung on hooks some fifty meters away.


    "Okay, now try hitting one of these... The weapon is kind of like a crossbow... So aim and fire when you''re ready!"


    She took aim, pointing the weapon in the general direction of the piece of dried meat, and began pulling the trigger. It was tough, and it took all her strength to pull it properly.


    The weapon kicked back and up, and unleashed a big puff of smoke, obscuring the result. She groaned a little as the wooden back end had given her a very hard knock on her shoulder.


    Rein fired next, after having carefully observed her actions. one of the pieces of dried meat came loose and fell to the floor.


    "Yes yes! Well done! Before the rest of you can try it. This is why I brought you here... These two projects are important... Spies will arrive soon. No doubt, they somehow heard us firing the wallbreaker, so... Tonight, I need you all to be awake and on alert. I don''t care if you kill the spies, just protect my research until I can properly destroy them."

 Chapter 25: Infiltrators

    She took a quiet breath of cool night air. She had taken up a covered position some distance away from the house as soon as night had arrived. Using her best skills, she had covered her tracks and already executed one particularly curious spy that had attempted to follow her. So far, she had only spotted scattered shadows creeping in the vicinity, probing the area for a point of entry. Carys and Tilia were also outside in their own positions. Rein and Indas were covering the inside. Along the road, she spotted a small group of shadows moving silently towards the house. She took a breath, and gently removed the safety of the special crossbow Varsylos had provided her with. Built like any normal crossbow, it distinguished itself in the round, grooved tube holding a bolt packed into a bigger, grooved tube. She took aim, and with a mute thud, the crossbow let fly.


    The first bolt dropped the lead shadow, the others quickly jumped towards the side of the road. A series of explosions followed, as the packets Tilia had prepared in the evening went up in a series of bright flashes, bathing the surrounding area in light. Several more infiltrators, approaching from the side of the building began moving. She pulled the string, loaded another bolt, and fired. As her own bolt dropped one shadow, the one at the back also dropped. Likely Carys engaging the same targets. The group began hurrying, and soon, a bright red flare went up in the air. They had reached the house, and activated the proximity warnings in the process. Three broke a window and climbed inside. What followed was a series of loud shrieks, followed by three mained bodies being pushed back out the window. Along the road, a strange box began advancing. Heavily armed and armoured soldiers, using big shields to provide an impressive all-round defence were advancing. She fired a couple of bolts in rapid succession, all bouncing or lodging themselved in the shields.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    She stood up, and began her quiet dash towards the box. Opposite, she saw Carys and Tilia also drawing closer. Still a distance away, she saw Tilia light a small item and throwing it at the box. A few seconds later, an explosion tore apart several of the armoured attackers, leaving some dead and others maimed. The formation broken, the soldiers charged towards the direction of the attack. She drew her knives, and attacked from behind. A quick slash, she split one attacker''s weaker back armour, driving her dagger deep into his spine. She pulled her dagger free and threw it at the nearest soldier. With a loud roar, her dagger dug into the soldier''s heel. In a blink, she landed on his back, and drove the other dagger into his neck. She drew both free, and barely managed to parry an oncoming soldier''s blow, stabbing him in the chest with a series of quick, deep jabs. Having created mayhem, the soldiers lost all remaining coordination, and some even began charging one another. In the midst of the chaos, Carys and Tilia arrived, and tore into the soldiers with cruel abandon.


    A short, but brutally one-sided fight later, and the quiet returned. Inside the house, the sounds of battle continued, she the three wiped off their blades and hurriedly made for the house.

 Chapter 26: Cleaning House

    She took the lead, and ran behind the house, stabbing one of the infiltrators who had gotten stuck under a pile of stored wood. Seconds later, she vaulted through the broken window and landed inside the house. In front of her, she saw that a bit of a stalemate had developed between the strange attackers and her friends. Exchanging bolts and throwing daggers over and next to the long dining table, the walls on both ends chipped and lined with sharp projectiles. Carys and Tilia climbed in behind her, and through a quick exchange of hand signals, went to work. Carys would attack from behind, Tilia snuck up the nearby stairs to get a good altitude advantage while Ferran would look after their backs. While waiting, she soon heard footsteps, and a few brutal seconds later, a decapitated corpse humg limp through the window, blood seeping onto the floor. A small metal pendant landed in the growing pool of blood and she held it up in the moonlight to see better.It was made of silver, felt unusually heavy for its apparent size, and an obsidian emblem shaped into some sort of many-petaled flower adorned the center.


    Up above, she noticed movement on top of the roof support beams, a shadow of someone sneaking about. She quietly traced it to the source, and fired a bolt in its general direction. A loud scream followed as a darkly clad figure fell from the beams and landed back first on thethick wooden table below with a wet crunching sound. A few seconds followed, before screaming from the remaining enemies began to reverberate throughout the room. After a few minutes of unending screaming, interrupted by loud questioning, followed by the wet snapping of bones, silence once more settled in.


    "Hmm, I think we''re clear... Indas? You hear anything?" Rein''s voice was soon followed by a snort.


    "What do you mean, I need to breathe quieter? Are we good, or not?"


    "We''re clear." Carys stood up from behind a stack of barrels.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    They all joined up around the big table. From the looks of it, everyone had gotten through the fight more or less unschathed. Rein bore a few graze marks on his jacket sleeves, but otherwise appeared in a good mood, so did Indas. As for the outside force, they were covered in mud and gore to the extent it would give the bravest warrior at least some pause.


    "Hah! you got off easy! We look like blood-caked snowmen!" Tilia broke into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, shortly followed by some agreeing chuckles from everyone else.


    "So, mission complete... Why don''t we ask this good fellow a few questions... If he''s still alive?" Rein jumped effortlessly up on the table and approached the corpse.


    In the blink of an eye, and certainly before she had even grasped the situation, the dead body had rolled to the side, and with an angry roar, thrown a dagger at Rein.Using both hands, he had caught the dagger between his flat hands, the tip stopping just short of touching his leather chestplate. Without a moment''s hesitation, he delivered a savage kick between the legs of the not so dead body. A shrill scream was unleashed, and as Rein withdrew his boot, Ferran saw a big, sharp and very bloody blade attached to the tip of his boot.


    "Rein! Damnit! You think he''ll talk to us like this?" Carys rolled her eyes.


    "His fault, trying to be clever... How about you tell us who hired you, and I''ll relieve your pain?" He gripped the writhing man with his hand and raised him up, blood pouring from between his legs.The man simply continued writhing, clutching his groin. Before Rein could ask any further questions, the man bit down on something.The body spasmed a few times, and went limp.


    Rein dropped the body. "That''s disappointing... They were professional after all..."


    "Let''s look at the other bodies for any sort of clues... Dibs on the valuable things though! Tilia smiled.


    "I don''t... Think we need to..." Ferran took out the small bloody pendant and held it up. Everyone''s eyes turned to her with shock and surprise.


    "How did you..." Carys was first to ask.


    "Climbed in the window behind us, I cut his head off, and he wore this pendant..."


    "The enemy leader... Just like that... Well done Ferran." Rein nodded with marked approval. "Let''s go study it."


    "Can I loot the corpses?" Tilia''s puppy-eyed expression got Rein to nod. "Fine, but dispose of them afterwards..."


    "Sure thing!"

 Chapter 27: In Translation

    Tilia had spent the rest of the night looting and piling up the corpses outside and started a big bonfire. By the time the sun finally appeared in the sky, the bonfire had gone out, leaving some nicely charred corpses behind.


    "Hey Rein! Can you help me out? I don''t know where this piece of spine is supposed to be."


    "No, in fact, I want you to stop playing around with skeletons, they''re not for show." Rein, who was busy reading a book from the small in-house library flipped a page. "In fact, it''ll be better if you bury them."


    "But I want to make some warning signs!"


    "..."


    "What do you mean I made enough the last time?" She scowled at Indas, whom had taken a short pause from writing in a small book, to gesture in a wide sweep at the ring of poles with skulls upon them ringing in the house.


    "Yeah... But some got broken in the fighting! Needs replacement! How about you Ferran? Can you help me?"


    She shook her head. The fighting had left her clothes covered in blood and undesirable bodily contents and she were in the process of washing them. She repeatedly dunked them into the washbin, the water soon contaminated with a disgusting pink or red upper layer.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    "..."


    "Hmm?"


    "He''s feeling sorry for you. Your body look like it was worked over with a saw and a club." Rein took his time to look up to translate.


    She looked her body over. The scars and gashes had healed, but few places had been left untouched during her imprisonment. Before she could carry on, Carys appeared in the doorway. Seeing her, she came over and handed her a small jar.


    "Rub this on your scars... It''ll help. Tilia, you can stay here, Rein, Indas, come with me, we have to do a proper dive in the library to identify the mark we found."


    "I''m already doing that... But fine."


    "..."


    "Fine, if you''re actually that busy."


    With that, Rein and Carys headed back inside, leaving the three alone outside. Tilia shrugged and continued tinkering with her latest piece of art, giving not half a care for anything else. Ferran went back to cleaning her clothes, and finally, after much scrubbing and changing water, her clothes began on the path towards clean. A hand brushed her shoulder and she looked up to see Indas standing over her, holding the small book he had been working on in his hands.


    "..." He gestured for her to take it, and she accepted after wiping her hands.


    The book turned out to be a manual of sorts. Without text, instead it was page up and page down with a variety of drawings illustrating a myriad of what appeared to be responses and questions. He pointed to the first page where a person seemed to understand some great mystery, then pointed just below. She looked at the bottom part, and nodded, which made his face light up into a smile. A very long path had opened in front of her.

 Chapter 28: Free-Time

    ¡°¡­ And that¡¯s the whole story. To recap¡­ We¡¯re going back in two days. The marking Ferran found belongs to an old branch of the Valmars family, and we¡¯ll be investigating it as soon as we return.¡± Carys nodded. ¡°That said, try to get in as much rest as you can, you¡¯ve earned it.¡±


    ¡°Well done Carys! An excellent debrief! It reminds me of the time I was in the army!¡± Varsylos grinned from ear to ear. As of late, the man had been on the top of his mood. Every morning he had prepared lavish meals, provided a variety of fun activities for them to freshen up on and even learn new skills.


    ¡°Okay! So, who¡¯ll join me for a trip up to bathe?¡± Tilia stood up, waving her freshly made fingerbone necklace.


    ¡°It¡­ Would be nice. I¡¯ve got to admit¡­ It certainly beats bathing in a tub¡­¡± Rein nodded approvingly.


    ¡°Will that be fine Varsylos?¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t you worry yourself about my place my little berrymuffin. After your last show of force, they¡¯d have to bring an army! At which point we¡¯ll break like twigs anyway!¡± He grinned and leaned closer and whispered something to Carys, which made her nod knowingly.


    ¡°Okay, seems like nothing¡¯s wrong then. We¡¯ll go there in a short while. Just be ready, I¡¯ll see to the things we need.¡± Carys dismissed the meeting.


    She found herself wondering what the place had done to Carys. At first, she had been hard, quiet and always gave off the impression she was not welcome. Thanks to the salve she had received, her skin had begun to pick up a slight bit of a luster, and felt softer than she could remember.


    ¡°Hey Ferran, come on! We should pick some swimwear for you too! Carys has a whole closet in her room, let¡¯s sneak in before she finishes up!¡± Tilia grabbed hold of her hand, and began pulling her along.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    A short while later they had all assembled outside the house. Rein was carrying a big backpack which seemed awful heavy, while Carys herself carried a basket with several types of food inside of it.


    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll be off then. Tili, why don¡¯t you lead the way?¡±


    ¡°Sure thing! Come along now!¡±


    They began ascending one of the nearby hills. The path up the side ran along a small stream of water and had visibly been trod a lot, leaving a light-brown stripe. To her surprise, the location was not too far off from the house, and offered a bit of a view of the whole valley.


    ¡°This¡¯ll be great¡­ You know, in many ways we¡¯re lucky. Varsylos alone is enough to keep people away from this place. In many other countries, any spring is rapidly built up and turned into some resort for rich people.¡±


    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t dare¡­ If he didn¡¯t blow them all up, I would!¡± Tilia puffed her chest. ¡°This is the best spot, so I¡¯ll make sure it¡¯ll stay that way!¡± Just as she finished, a flash of fire erupted down in the valley, followed shortly after by the sound.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine Ferran¡­ That¡¯s merely the security system at work. As you¡¯ve seen, he¡¯s a great man, and his inventions could probably change warfare forever. Every nation on this continent knows that, and try to gain access to his place. If someone tried to brazenly march up there, he would simply blow up his house¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­ Which he has done like¡­ Eight times now?¡± Rein interjected.


    ¡°Five actually, but yes. So instead they try to send people to sneak in, recover something, and leave.¡±


    ¡°And they all fail¡­ Idiots.¡± Tilia grinned. ¡°I mean, that firecracker just now was nice and all, but you should see some of his more brutal systems¡­ They¡¯re a real handful.¡±


    ¡°No, Ferran has seen enough of that.¡± Carys ended the conversation.


    ¡°Pff, since when did you begin to care?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Tilia spun around on her heels. ¡°I¡¯m asking when you began to care silly! I mean, you always hate the new people!¡±


    ¡°¡­ Leave it at that.¡± Her voice and expression turned very ominous, which appeared enough to silence the annoying girl in front of her.


    ¡°Fiiine¡­¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you run ahead, and find the best ones?¡± Rein, seeing the situation develop decided to interrupt them both. ¡°You should consider that Ferran has not been to one before, so don¡¯t pick the hottest one.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± Tilia nodded and ran off ahead.

 Chapter 29: Observation

    Upon reaching the spring, Carys put down the picnic items while Rein put down his backpack, revealing a set of collapsible stools, towels and a variety of comfort articles. Soon they had set everything up, but by this time, Tilia had already jumped headlong in, dragging Ferran along with her.


    ¡°At least change out of your clothes first!¡± Carys shouted, seemingly to no avail. A moment later however, Tilia threw both their clothes out of the water while continuing to attempt to drown Ferran, whom appeared to struggle in the new environment. She had indeed swum in a sewer before, but the warmth and clean water had surprised her.


    ¡°Tili! Careful! Have you even asked Ferran if she knows how to swim?¡±


    ¡°No! But it¡¯s do or die isn¡¯t it!?¡± She shouted back, continuing her struggle without pause.


    ¡°Relax Cary¡­ They¡¯ll be fine. Probably.¡± Rein said reassuringly, while climbing into the nearby spring, of a much less temperate variant.


    Carys sighed and got into the water opposite, and soon threw her clothes back on land.


    ¡°Still a little shy huh? Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not like we haven¡¯t seen each other before¡­ After all, I guess you still remember that one noble¡­ Uh¡­ Growlyn?¡±


    ¡°I do¡­ I can¡¯t believe he managed to keep so many people in his basement like that¡­¡±


    A silence sank in between the two. Over in the other spring holes, the laughter and struggling was still going strong, with Indas now trying to mediate for Ferran¡¯s survival.


    ¡°What¡¯s on your mind?¡± Rein looked at the female peer opposite him. ¡°I can tell something¡¯s bothering you.¡±


    ¡°I hate it when you look through me like that¡­¡±


    ¡°Force of habit¡­ After all, I used to be the leader¡­¡±


    Carys dunked her head into the warm water and remained there for a little while. She then re-emerged and wiped the water from her face.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ Making that fatal mistake again¡­¡±


    ¡°You care?¡±


    She nodded, peering over at Ferran whom had managed to struggle herself free, and was in the process of enacting her revenge, using Indas as her partner in crime.


    ¡°I know I shouldn¡¯t. I try to remind myself what happens. But it¡¯s just too cruel. I don¡¯t feel she should be one of us. We learned this art from the first moment we could hold a needle. We¡¯re good at this¡­ She just kills to survive. She would probably have been just another normal city girl if not for her being abandoned.¡±


    ¡°Think about it.¡± Rein rubbed his sore shoulders. ¡°No matter how you look at it, she¡¯s indebted to our mistress. At this point, if not for our mistress rescuing her, she¡¯d probably be dead, or forced to work in some alleyway brothel. But hey. If you think we¡¯re doing it wrong¡­ Ask her what she wants.¡±


    ¡°I know what she wants¡­ But I don¡¯t think what she wants, wants her. And even if they somehow come back for her¡­ What will they do when they see what she¡¯s become?¡±


    Rein thought for a moment, looking even deeper set in rumination as he washed his hair in the water.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of her reading¡­ If you¡¯ll see to her writing.¡±


    ¡°Fine¡­ Sometimes I wish I could be you¡­ You take it all in stride, never flinch and never get attached to anything¡­¡±


    Rein sighed and threw a handful of water in her general direction. ¡°Sounds like a good statue to me. I used to lead, you know that. And I screwed up and got them killed. Consider me flattered that you would think I could do all that without a moment¡¯s pause.¡±


    ¡°I just¡­¡± She began.


    ¡°Look. For what it¡¯s worth¡­ Tili and Indas seem to get along with her just fine. They raided the archive remember? Maybe it¡¯s just that they¡¯re peers in terms of age, but they¡¯ve connected very well. Remember how Indas treated you at first?¡±


    ¡°I still have the scars.¡± She turned around, revealing to him the familiar scar running almost the entire length of her back on the right.


    ¡°I could have sworn it wasn¡¯t all that¡­ But be square with me. You brought this up because?¡±


    She hesitated, pretending to wash herself while looking for the right way to express herself.


    ¡°I¡­ Don¡¯t like how she¡¯s filling his spot on our team¡­¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s too good, so you fear it¡¯ll overshadow him?¡±


    A barely visible nod followed. But before Rein could say anything else, he looked up just in time to see three silhouettes flying before landing in the water in a mighty splash. A moment later, the three culprits emerged.


    ¡°Hot! Ouch!¡± Tilia emerged first.


    ¡°It feels pleasant.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Yeah! How can this scalding temperature be pleasant Ferran?!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°I know! It feels like my skin will peel right off¡­ But still¡­ Oh hi Rein, Carys¡­ Um we¡¯re here to join you!¡±


    The two exchanged meaningful looks, and soon each unleashed a torrent of water at the three surprises.

 Chapter 30: Mind Challenge

    She woke up to the sound of someone sneaking around outside. Without thinking, she grabbed her daggers and waited for an opportunity. Whoever was outside her window were good, and had managed to approach the house. To her luck, a mistake had been made, and she waited like a snake in the grass for the attack.


    Before she could do anything, a series of eviscerating cuts and loud screaming erupted outside. A few seconds later, the quiet morning resumed like nothing had happened.


    ¡°Sorry Mariel, did I wake you up?¡± Rein¡¯s voice came from outside. She wrapped the blanket around her body and stood up to look. Outside were two neatly dismembered torsos with their previously attached limbs strewn around. In the middle was Rein, wiping blood off a strange sword she had never seen before.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­ But¡­ They got so close¡­ Who are they?¡±


    ¡°Particularly nasty bunch. Serrators, or sawmen I guess is better. Name stems from their blades.¡± He bent down and picked up a sword from its sheath to show her. Both edges were serrated, but not very well kept. ¡°They¡¯re good at this sort of thing. I hardly noticed them myself.¡±


    ¡°Why are you up so early?¡±


    ¡°I like being early from time to time, means I can read a book in peace, and start easy. Only today I read about a particular style of dagger combat.¡±


    Her interest piqued, she lit up for a moment, only to falter as she remembered her lack of literacy. Picking up on her disappointment, Rein showed her a brief smile.


    ¡°You know. It is early in the morning, so if you want, I could teach you a few basic letters to start you off on your reading and writing journey?¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be there in a moment!¡±


    As Ferran disappeared, Rein gave himself a pat on the back, pleased that she had taken the bait, and made for the inside of the house.


    ---


    When the rest of the house eventually got around to wake up and make for the living room, they were astounded to find her together with Rein. With all her effort she was wringing her mind to constantly attempt to absorb the material which to her was completely foreign and difficult.


    ¡°Well done. It¡¯s a start. Two basic letters in one morning¡­ Now write them a hundred times each. Oh, good morning everyone.¡±


    ¡°Is Ferran learning to write? That¡¯s awesome! But I doubt she¡¯s better than me!¡±


    ¡°Actually Tili¡­ Hmm. On second thought, never mind.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°I agree. She¡¯s off to a good start.¡± Even Carys nodded approvingly. ¡°With that said¡­ This is our last day here, so if there¡¯s anything you¡¯d want to do, today¡¯s the day.¡±


    ¡°I guess I¡¯m satisfied¡­ Oh. Wait there Ferran. You wrote it the wrong way. It makes another letter you¡¯ll learn later, but the one you¡¯re looking for is¡­ Yes, that way. Good.¡±


    She struggled on with her writing, constantly pushed on by Rein and cheered by Tilia. Indas occasionally gave her a nod of approval, while Carys remained on the sideline, quietly observing her for a little while before breaking the silence.


    ¡°Tili, come, we¡¯ll make breakfast while they work.¡±


    ¡°What? Why don¡¯t Indas do it?¡±


    ¡°Just, follow me, stat.¡±


    ¡°Muh¡­ Fine.¡± Tilia grumbled.


    With the two other women gone, Rein leaned closer to her and whispered conspiratorically:


    ¡°Tili is an awful writer, as in, seriously bad. Your letters are readable¡­ Hers¡­ Eh not so much.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Yeah, I agree, Tili should¡¯ve been here instead.¡±


    ¡°Guys¡­ I¡¯m trying to focus.¡±


    Their watchful stares notwithstanding, she felt like she was making real progress in the whole writing deal. The letters seemed to take shape a little more naturally now, though she felt certain just a short break would make her forget half of what she had learned.


    Work continued until breakfast was called. Before they left, Rein made a point of comparing the start of the session¡¯s letters, to those of the session¡¯s finish. A visible difference. One which she could appreciate, but not feel excited about.

 Chapter 31: Gifts

    ¡°Good morning children!¡± Varsylos made a rather heroic pose and strode confidently down the few steps. ¡°Everyone¡¯s gathered, which is great! Because I really wanted to give you all some toys today!¡±


    ¡°Toys!?¡± Tilia, whom up till then had been watching Ferran working on her writing, shifted her focus instantly.


    ¡°But first! We should give some space for learning¡­ It¡¯s important to read and write little Ferran, the greatest secrets in the world, are hidden in books.¡±


    With everyone eagerly waiting for her to finish up, she began to feel a little pressured. Looking at the jumble of letters, she spotted a pattern of slight improvement for each letter, as her grip normalized around the feather pen.


    A short while later, and she had finished. Her wrist was aching terribly, but at last, her two letters looked vaguely like Rein¡¯s; Flawless.


    ¡°Hmm, not bad. I think you¡¯ll get the hang of it. So? Varsylos? What did you have in mind?¡±


    ¡°With all your great help in keeping away those particularly pesky people, it¡¯s time to pay up as they say! Follow me! I want you to pick something of your fancy!¡± Leaving the note behind, a little saddened to leave the note like it did not matter, she followed the others. Varsylos led them down into his basement, through another hidden door. This hidden area turned out to be even more heavily secure, with actual steel bracing the walls, floor and ceiling.


    ¡°I see you¡¯re surprised little Ferran! I assure you it¡¯s just to keep idiots from digging in here¡­ They¡¯ve tried¡­ The fools.


    ¡°Flooding and collapsing tunnels are just that much more fun with people in it!¡± Tilia chirped.


    ¡°Exactly! Anyway¡­ Let me see. What was the sequence again?¡±


    He began turning the various knobs and pulling different levers, and after a good while of fumbling, the mechanical doors swung open with a sound reminiscent of the doors in the Imperial Archive.


    ¡°This is where I keep all the things I don¡¯t bother to destroy! No world-changing weapons or anything in here, but surely something useful for my lovely little friends¡­ Don¡¯t be shy, don¡¯t be shy, go ahead and have a look!¡±


    Tilia immediately rushed in like it was some sort of nobleman¡¯s toystore. Even Carys and Rein seemed unable to contain their excitement. Indas bore his usually indifferent appearance, but was still appraising every item on display. She walked along one of the rows of display cases. To Ferran, it felt like she was walking through some eccentric¡¯s display. Like the nobles who liked to keep dead animals on display, or an impressive array of finely polished swords. She stopped in front of a case filled to the brim with dice.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Ah, those are cheat dice¡­ Loaded down and everything, but you don¡¯t seem a gambling type. Perhaps you Rein might have an interest?¡± Varsylos, who was trailing after her, called out to Rein whom politely shook his head. ¡°I quit gambling, drew too much attention!¡±


    ¡°Hey! What are these lovely cubes!?¡± Tilia shouted from the corner closest to the door.


    ¡°Oh, I imagined you¡¯d like them! They¡¯re gas dispensers! With a little wire line to reel them in afterwards, there¡¯s also a ball version.¡±


    ¡°I want them! Right now!¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be right over!¡±


    She feigned interest in a pair of high-heels with a nasty-looking blade poking out of them, to peer over at the others. Carys seemed to be locked in place, looking at something small and pretty. Rein was appraising a set of whetstones, while Indas seemed overwhelmed with the possibilities.


    ¡°Can I take these hairpins? They are lockpick hairpins, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! Good eye Carys, you can have those, no problem!¡±


    ¡°Hey Varsylos? I found a pair of curved blades upstairs¡­¡± Rein began.


    ¡°You can have one of them. They¡¯re very expensive, I bought them off a merchant from the East, those whetstones too! I¡¯ll help you choose the right one after this!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°I think he wants help!¡±


    To this, he nodded at her, pleased that his simple message had gotten through.


    ¡°Go over to where Rein is, there should be something you¡¯ll like over there!¡± Varsylos shouted back, while heading over to Carys, whom was waiting patiently. Rein motioned for Indas, and it was not long before he appeared to find something of interest.


    Ferran kept going down the row of display cases when an item caught her eye. It was a pair of vambraces, at least at first glance. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that they were akin to a type she had seen in the armory back in the city.


    Not noticing him, she suddenly felt his warm breath down the back of her neck.


    ¡°Those huh? You should definitively have a pair. I know the old ones are still back there. But these are improved, stronger, reusable darts with contact injection, in a pinch the vambrace can even resist longsword blows¡­ Just don¡¯t expect them to protect against axes or morning stars.¡±


    He unlocked the case and handed her the two, strapping her in and explaining the mechanism. Its design was straightforward, press a release and the small thing bolts would fire. A small hook pin was used to draw the firing mechanism, though finger practice could eliminate its use.


    ¡°Yes, yes! Those look perfect! You can have them, and this set of bolts too!¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ Just like that?... Thank you very much sir¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it little Ferran! I want you to be a very successful assassin! Just like the rest of your friends! Listen to them and learn from them. Oh, but be a cutie and try to get Tilia to give up her explosives recipe¡­¡±


    ¡°I heard that! And no, you¡¯re still not going to get it!¡± Tilia stuck out her tounge.


    ¡°Was worth the try. Take good care of them, and they¡¯ll take good care of you too!¡±


    ¡°Yes sir! I will, thank you so much!¡±


    ¡°Hm hm.¡± Varsylos nodded, patting her head.

 Chapter 32: Pool of Filth

    Another change of the guard. Their tabards bore the imperial insignia, and represented the prime of imperial military might. A whole day had gone by as she observed their movements closely. Though there clearly was a certain amount of uncertainty, their changing of guard followed a defined pattern. She descended the wet trunk of the tree she had been watching from. The ground was soggy from the heavy rainfall, and cold wind made the whole experience even more miserable. Infiltrating the place seemed to be easy, but something felt off about the whole idea.


    Before they had left Varsylos, had passed on to them a set of records and notes to be handed over to their mistress. During the ride back, Carys had read through the files and though she had refused to share any of the details despite constant pestering¡­ It was clear not everything was as it should be. Shortly after returning home, she had been sent out on her own to enter the small garrison building in front of her. Though the darkness kept her hidden, she decided that attempting the front gate would be a bad idea. The guards were professionals, and though she had her advantages, she judged them insufficient. The alternative plan was overall more attractive. By orchestrating a series of smaller cave-ins in the sewer system beneath the garrison, she could access the prison cells without any other sort of initial trouble. She nodded to herself and quietly slid down the wet trunk of the tree, down to the muddy street below. Few people would go out at night, and even fewer in bad weather. A few scattered people, hurriedly walking, keeping their hoods pulled well down over their eyes. She headed over to one of the nearby maintenance holes servicing the fountains running the length of the square. A quiet moment later and she was climbing down the ladder towards the bottom. What struck first was the smell of putrid filth. The mix of rot, decay and refuse from the world of plenty above. After having been above ground so long, the stench caught her off-guard, but she quickly accustomed. She almost felt at home. Having reached the door leading into the sewer proper, her mind began to work hard on the matter of the sewer cats. Running into a squad would most certainly kill her. She placed her ear to the door, and listened for the familiar sloshing of feet walking in the water. Nothing seemed to be moving beyond the door so she reached for the handle.


    She froze just in time. Through the door, she could hear the familiar sound of boots wading through muck flooded filth. The sloshing revealed the presence of at least five people. All armed, but not armored beyond her means to take out. Having gone unnoticed until practically on top of her, they were undoubtedly hunters on the prowl. Waiting in dead silence, the wading boots soon disappeared somewhere down the tunnel. She gave them a little more time before quietly pushing the old door open, the hinges creaking painfully from disuse. One of the great advantages, but also problems with the imperial city were the multitude of buried pagan ruins being used to support the city. Layers upon layers of ruins from ages past all shoved into the ground, and built upon. One such ruin ran beneath the garrison building. According to Rein whom sounded especially familiar with the area, an old pagan temple ruin laid close by to her objective. His instructions at the back of her mind, she traced along the tunnel until she reached what seemed like a dead end. She put on the diving mask, and unceremoniously climbed into the fetid water. She drew breath, and dived. The fading light of the re-lit torches shining even into the fatty water like an eerie green curtain. Remains littered the bottom. Everything from bottles to bones. A few corpses hung in the slop, the composition of the water already having started to dissolve the flesh and fat into the muck.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Running out of breath, she emerged just in time and climbed out of the water, struggling to do so under the sheer weight of the dead tissue, waste, gore and filth collecting in bags in her clothes. She loosened her clothes to let the wave of utter horrid flow away, a few partially rotten fingers floating away. The tunnel she now found herself in seemed to be under maintenance. The bricks were largely in place, and the non-cluttered grates allowed comparatively clean rainwater to flow into the tunnel. Even the torches placed along the walls burnt brightly. She placed herself under one of the particularly large floods of water, and waited as the sticky gunk on her skin flowed away. Along another stream, she suddenly saw the water change color from a largely brown, but watery, to orange. Some bloated drunk above had clearly had enough, and was probably blowing chunks into the drain, and for some reason, it did not seem to stop.


    Having washed herself as best she could, she continued down the tunnel. Further down it began to branch, and she could hear voices coming from one of the paths.


    ¡°So how far until it¡¯s all done?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry chief, we¡¯ll get it done by tomorrow morning¡­ The rainfall is softening up the ground a fair bit though.¡±


    ¡°Good. Being down here unpleasant enough without the hunters and whatever else.¡±


    ¡°By the way. We came across old ruins on the left path¡­ Should we report it?¡±


    ¡°If you really feel like losing an arm for paganism¡­ Go right ahead.¡±


    She visualized the map in her mind and it made sense. She continued a little bit further down the left tunnel and soon arrived at a hole in the wall. Inside the hole was the temple. She was getting closer.

 Chapter 33: Mercy Kill

    The old temple was made from hewn stone. Thick and quite tall stone pillars supported the roof high above. The oil lamp at the entrance meant she could search out for the passage. Behind one of the pillars, she found a small metal ring. Pulling the ring caused a small stone tile to come loose revealing a small tunnel she was just able to crawl through. She got into it and put the tile back in place behind her.


    She crawled for a while through the darkness, crashing once into the wall at a turn. Soon she could see light in the end of the tunnel and as she drew closer, heard screams and shouting as well as machinery at work. A small hole was left in the wall in front of her after a brick had apparently fallen out. Whomever had done the masonry had done a bad job, and even left the hole in the wall. The sight though the hole almost caused her to scream. She was back in the torture chamber. Her memories threatened to overwhelm her senses. Nausea overcame her and only a desperate struggle kept the bile inside her body. Blood began to trickle down from her lip as she dug her teeth in to mitigate the overwhelming stimuli. Attempts at refocusing on the task at hand were simply met with memories all jumbled together, but carrying with them a sense of dread.


    It took a while for her to regain enough control to reaffirm her dedication to the duty at hand. On shaky legs she began following along the wall until eventually she met another dead end. Feeling around in the darkness, she found a moveable part, and pushed it aside with great effort. It was a dusty storeroom. The crate was largely empty save for a few stacks of moldy blankets. Her head continued to hurt, but she got out and inched the storeroom door open to be met by a long corridor of many doors. Most were empty, but some sound could be heard from inside. The first door she tried, revealed a great many large barrels. The floor was covered in white powder which turned out to be salt. Out of one of the barrels, hung a limp, shriveled up arm. She took a deep breath and opened the small, sealed box mistress Ellistin had passed on to her. Inside was a small, precisely folded note. Upon opening it, she saw a set of symbols, wondering what it might mean. Puzzled, she kept her focus on the note, and not to the grizzly sight as best she could and went back out to the corridor. At the very back of the corridor, she saw the same line of symbols. She quickly headed for it when she heard movement from one of the doors behind her.


    She made a dash for the door, which turned out to be open. She soon realized why.


    Inside the room were three men. Two of them were soldiers bearing a marking she had never seen before. The last man looked like some noble, but she had no time to think.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°What¡¯s¡­¡± Was all the man managed to utter, before she released three bolts from the mechanical vambrace. A moment later, the three men lay dead on the floor, a thin metal bolt stuck into each man¡¯s head. one having gone almost completely through, the bloody tip sticking out of the nobleman¡¯s forehead. She quickly shut the door behind her and was about to take care of the bodies, when she realized she was not alone in the room. On the stone slab which the three men had fallen around, laid a body, a young man she judged to be about the same age as Rein. Torn, dirty, the left leg a minced stump just above the knee, wound in dirty bandages. The torso was in no better condition, visibly broken, pieces of smashed ribs poking out of the chest, leaking puss and flesh infected.


    ¡°¡­ Water¡­¡± A weak voice came from between torn lips.


    ¡°Who... Are you?¡± She felt no need to raise a weapon, but her gut told her to be cautious regardless.


    ¡°Water¡­ Please.¡±


    She looked around, and found a small canteen in the belt of one of the soldiers. After pulling the cork she poured small drops into the young man¡¯s mouth. It did not seem to help him in any way however.


    ¡°On¡­ Your arm. I know the design.¡± The man coughed weakly. ¡°My name¡­ Erinual¡­ Remember me¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you the asset I was sent here for?¡± She asked, but received no reply to her question. Instead, Erinual reached out for the table nearby.


    ¡°On the table¡­ Take the buttons back. And¡­ kill me¡­ Please.¡±


    ¡°But why?¡±


    ¡°¡­ I will die soon¡­ But let me¡­ Die now.¡±


    She nodded, and drew her dagger, hovering it over his heart. His weak, shriveled hand reached up, and closed around her own. With what remained of his strength, he pushed the dagger in, grunted as the dagger pierced him, and fell silent. Alone on the room, she pulled the dagger free and wiped it clean on one of the dead guards. On the small table laid a wool shirt and sewn onto it were three sooty buttons. Once pried away from the shirt, the backside of the buttons revealed they were made of metal, seemingly silver. Before she could do anything else, she heard footsteps in the corridor outside, this time armored boots were approaching. She climbed in behind the door, and waited for it to open.


    The door opened and what had been calm steps turned into frantic running and shouts for reinforcements. She could see the shadow of one guard coming through the doorway. The guard had weapons at the ready, but approached the bodies on the floor first. She saw her chance and a few seconds later, the guard was on the floor, blood gushing from a slit in his throat. She hurried out into the corridor, and all the terrified screaming from earlier had subsided, replaced by the sound of metal against cold stone. She could already see the helmets as she threw herself into the way she came in, jumped into the crate, and crawled as fast as she could.

 Chapter 34: Untold Truth

    ¡°It¡¯ll soon be time for the meeting with our mistress¡­ But before that, we need to get that muck off your body¡­ Follow me.¡± Farsilden, in his usual demeanor, shunted her along, while casting quick glances at the mucky stains on the polished floor. He led her into the large pool room, but instead of tossing her in, he immediately pulled her over to the corner of the room and into a small glass cabinet. He then opened a small door and filled a bucket with water.


    ¡°Anything of interest not resistant to water on you?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡­¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± He then threw the content of the bucket at her. The clean wave of water immediately browned and lumped, and the filth poured into a small, hand-sized grate in the floor.


    ¡°Get your clothes off.¡± She followed his instructions and soon another wave of warm water poured over her.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s better¡­ Now to get you soaped in¡­¡± He reached out for a chain in the roof of the cabinet and pulled on it, a showerhead appeared, fitted with a very large tank and a removable valve to allow the water to flow freely. After a few refills, the tank was full and he handed her a piece of soap.


    She began to rub the soap over herself, but it was mere seconds after beginning that Farsilden reclaimed the soap and went to work on her himself. ¡°With that speed, you¡¯ll never be ready in time¡­¡± He mumbled, and soon had her covered in soapy bubbles. He pulled the pin out and the showerhead began pouring water on her, washing away the soap. ¡°Okay¡­ Now get into the pool¡­¡± He commanded and she walked into the pool and submerged herself in the gently perfumed water. She ducked her head a few times, and sat down on the steps and leaned back, her head and shoulders above the water.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Suddenly, she felt a slight sting at the side of her neck, quickly followed by another, and her vision began to swim in front of her. She just managed to see Farsilden kneeling next to her with a pair of syringes in his hand before she blacked out.


    ¡­


    ¡°Is it done?¡± His mistress entered the pool room. Farsilden bowed deeply and nodded. ¡°It is done.¡±


    ¡°Good¡­ I wish I didn¡¯t have to send her on this mission¡­¡±


    ¡°It was necessary my Lady. I¡¯m sure you recognize that the others would most certainly have compromised the mission if they knew.¡±


    Ellistin nodded to him and gently swung over to Ferran¡¯s unconscious body, which he had made comfortable. His mistress ran her hand through the girl¡¯s hair and caressed her cheek lovingly. ¡°My Lady, I must protest¡­ She¡¯s not cleaned up yet.¡±


    ¡°Neither am I. How is she holding up?¡±


    He nodded and headed over to a small metal case he had kept hidden in a small covered locker. Inside was his administration kit, with several vials and syringes at the ready. He picked up a small vial with a red liquid inside of it and read off the measurement. To her he explained that the current consumption was within expected amounts. In addition, the treatment was successfully preventing any psychological backlash.


    ¡°I see¡­ Do you think she encountered any trouble during the mission?¡±


    ¡°Most likely not. Her usual dose should have ensured she would remain in control at any rate, but it would no doubt leave some scarring if she did¡­ It should be sufficient to keep her out of any harm for a few days.¡±


    He put the case back in place and closed the locker. ¡°Well then, my Lady, would you perhaps like to wash yourself?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to.¡±


    ¡°Should I remove her before you get in?¡± He gestured to the girl.


    ¡°Leave her. She¡¯s done a good job, and deserve to relax a little.¡±


    He nodded and left the room as his mistress undressed and made ready. As he closed the door he caught a glimpse of her shapely buttocks, and apologized silently to her. With still some time left, he sought out one of the servants to clean up the mucky trail the girl had left on the floor.

 Chapter 35: Report

    She woke up to find herself still in the water. Her body felt completely relaxed and the stiffness had vanished. Her head however felt heavy, and she could not remember how she had got into the water to begin with.


    ¡°Are you finished?¡± Farsilden¡¯s voice close by made her spin around.


    ¡°¡­ I¡­ I am. Sorry. I fell asleep.¡±


    ¡°Silly child¡­ Dry yourself off. I¡¯ve brought some clothes for you. I¡¯ll be waiting in the hall.¡±


    Doing as she was told, she wiped herself dry, and then picked up the neatly folded clothes on the small stool by the door. A simple, comfortable blue tunic, and some pretty but flimsy-looking shoes. She combed her hair and retrieved the three buttons which had been left on the slab. Her clothes were nowhere in sight, but she guessed he had taken them to be washed. Making herself ready, she met with Farsilden outside and together they headed for Ellistin¡¯s chambers.


    ¡°Yes, please enter.¡±


    ¡°My Lady, forgive my intrusion, but I have brought Ferran. She has completed her mission and is ready to inform you of the outcome.¡±


    ¡°Ferran! Yes please, do come in!¡±


    She entered the room and the doors closed behind her. Whenever she was in Ellistin¡¯s presence, she had a feeling of shrinking. A complete nothing before such beauty and intellect that her mistress possessed. She bent her knees in reverence.


    ¡°I¡­ Have completed the mission mistress. I, am sorry but my memories about the execution of the task you gave me eludes me. Nevertheless, I brought out these three buttons.¡±Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    ¡°Excellent.¡± Her mistress smiled gently, and motioned for her to come closer. ¡°Would you like some tea, or perhaps a pastry? You must be hungry!¡±


    ¡°Thank you, mistress¡­¡± She picked up a small jam-filled cookie and ate it in one go. Only then just remembering that certain manners were required. Her mistress merely chuckled before pouring her a cup of tea which smelled sweetly of fruits. She took a polite sip, ensuring that she observed all the required manners.


    ¡°There, you look much better already.¡± Her mistress beamed at her, and she could not help but blush slightly under the shower of affection. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a moment, perhaps you¡¯ll remember what happened.¡±


    She nodded, and began grinding her mind for information. After a little while the memories began to reveal themselves, and she recounted her process of infiltration, as well as the encounters. Upon reaching the cell and describing the young man, Elistin silenced her with a finger.


    ¡°Before you go any further. How do you feel?¡±


    ¡°Mistress? I feel fine... Any reason why?¡±


    ¡°None. Do continue, you just seemed a little pale just now.¡±


    ¡°I found a young man¡­ He said his name was Erinual, and his body was completely broken.¡±


    ¡°He was alive?¡± Her mistress seemed surprised.


    ¡°Barely. He told me his name and to bring these three buttons back.¡±


    ¡°And the young man?¡±


    ¡°He took his own life, though he was too weak to do it entirely by himself.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Her mistress fell silent, contemplating the details. The silence hung in the air and she gestured for the three buttons to be put on the table. She studied them and finally sighed.


    ¡°That¡¯s it then. Good work. I¡¯ll give you a few days to relax. I will need some time to prepare the reports for my superiors¡­ You should go eat and rest up a bit more in the meantime.¡±


    She nodded and excused herself, leaving Ellistin as she sat down by her desk and began to write. Out in the corridor, Farsilden was waiting for her. Upon noticing her, he nodded and left her alone. Not certain what to do she began heading for Rein¡¯s room, hoping to get him to teach her some more writing.

 Chapter 36: Fashion Agony

    ¡°Would you like a ribbon or a hairpin?¡± The hairdresser asked her, holding the two items so that she could see the result. Meanwhile, two seamstresses were busy with adjusting the dress on the mannequin behind her.


    ¡°The¡­ Ribbon? I don¡¯t even know¡­ I¡¯ve never really worn this kind of thing before.¡± Her comment made the man shake his head.


    ¡°I see. In that case, I recommend the hairpin. It will most certainly catch the eye of any¡­ Ahem. Young stallion.¡±


    She threw a glance at the dress behind her. It looked like a tight fit. Low cut both in the front and in the back, adorned with expensive fabrics and a variety of expensive bracelets, and a brooch she felt certain was made from pure gold, with an actual diamond embedded in its center.


    ¡°So¡­ Why can¡¯t I just wear something normal?¡± Her question nearly caused the man to drop everything for the fifth time.


    ¡°Dear little lady, a beautiful young maiden like yourself ought to have the best clothes and jewelry to enhance your beauty¡­ I suppose your goal is to find an excellent suitor?¡±


    ¡°No¡­? What do you even mean? Can you speak normal?¡±


    ¡°M-moving swiftly on my dear¡­ I believe this hair arrangement is perfectly splendid.¡±


    The man handed her a mirror. Despite her best effort, she was unable to keep her jaw from dropping at the ridiculous sight before her.


    ¡°Does your appearance please you?¡±


    ¡°Not at all. Nu uh¡­ I¡¯d rather keep my hair down, one hairpin to keep hair from my face¡­¡±


    ¡°Very well! You have excellent taste! Indeed, simplicity is beauty in and of itself is it not?¡±


    ¡°I would agree¡­¡± She turned around to find Lady Elistin in the doorway. The three attendants all offered formal greetings and resumed their work.


    ¡°Do I have to do this, mistress?¡±


    ¡°Think of it¡­ As my way of saying thanks for your earlier efforts. A whole evening of good food, relaxation and excellent company¡­¡± To her surprise, Elistin leaned close and whispered to her:


    ¡°I wholeheartedly agree that it¡¯s awful, the party will be too, but it serves a purpose.¡± She blinked to her and turned to the tailor.


    ¡°Please do continue! I expect my little lady to be no less than the center of attention for the whole party!¡±


    ¡°Y-yes your Ladyship!¡±


    Eventually, the clothing ritual was finished, and she could finally leave the room of cosmetic horror. She walked unsteadily, her feet completely unused to the pumps she was now wearing. She had managed to bicker her way out of the pairs dedicated to ¡®height compensation¡¯ and had settled for a pair with barely any heels at all. Though her velvet blue dress had looked nightmarish while fitted on the mannequin, putting it on and wearing it felt surprisingly okay, although her concerns for the things expected of her overshadowed any other concern as simple as her attire. Her thoughts were soon interrupted by the others appearing. Indas and Rein both wore matching clothes which gave off an aura of nobility. Polished shoes, a fine jacket and a matching set of pants made them both look like young noblemen who would immediately attract the attention of any eligible women they might encounter. Carys as per usual, looked like the royal women she had seen in the pictures adorning Elistin¡¯s mansion. Tilia, had apparently found herself unable to overpower her seamstresses, let alone her hairdresser, and came out with double pigtails, looking just about ready to tear someone¡¯s head off. Farsilden soon arrived to bring them to the wagon. He wore a classical servant¡¯s suit, propped up for the occasion and out of them all, looked the closest to normal. Waiting in the wagon was Elistin herself, which turned out to be even more stunning than Carys. The color of their respective dresses complimented each other well. Farsilden closed the door of the wagon and whipped some life into the two horses.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°Now remember, be on your best behavior, gather information and do try to look dashing.¡± Elistin smiled and handed them each a small pouch. ¡°Some emergency tools¡­ Only to be used in real emergencies.¡±


    ¡°This is how we¡¯ll do it¡­ Tili, you¡¯ll be hanging out with me. We¡¯ll look after Elly¡­¡±


    ¡°Awh¡­ Can I at least get to sample all the food?¡±


    ¡°Just¡­ Don¡¯t stuff your face like last time¡­ It was unseemly.¡±


    ¡°Tili. I expect you to behave. This is a very important party.¡± Elistin gave her a very stern look, and upon seeing acceptance, if somewhat grudgingly, on Tilia¡¯s face, returned to her gentle expression.


    ¡°Indas, go have a look around the house when you can, particularly the servant¡¯s quarters. Rein, you¡¯ll be on the dance floor. Show them what you are made of.¡±


    ¡°Sure thing¡­ I¡¯ll make¡¯em swoon¡­ Just you wait.¡±


    ¡°And Ferran¡­ This will be your first party, so stay close to Elly at least until you get a feeling for how the place works¡­ Suffice to say, nobles come in many shapes¡­¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Tilia interrupted.¡± They¡¯re all bloated piglets.¡±


    The carriage rolled through the gates, leaving the high walls of the imperial city behind. Soon, they caught up with a whole lot more carriages being inspected and cleared. A lot of soldiers were on watch, and many more had already mounted up and were spreading themselves along the whole line of carriages to act as escorts.


    ¡°Good evening my lady¡­¡± A soldier opened the door of the carriage and saluted.


    ¡°Yes? How may I help you officer?¡±


    ¡°Your invitation?¡±


    ¡°Certainly.¡± Elistin handed the guard a small scroll which he quickly skimmed through and returned. He then took out a small notebook.


    ¡°Lady Elistin, accompanied by?¡±


    ¡°These are my wards. Their names are provided in the invitation. I am also accompanied by my Master of servants.¡±


    ¡°Understood. Have you been provided with masks for the evening, or will you require a selection brought to you?¡±


    ¡°A selection if you please.¡±


    ¡°A moment then.¡±


    The guard whistled and soon, a young squire appeared next to him carrying a wooden crate filled to the brim with masks; from the curious to the very simple, all the way to the extravagant. After a prompting from Elistin, she picked a mask, and the two guards left.


    ¡°This, has been a while¡­¡± Carys said, voice full of melancholy. She turned the mask over and put it on, hiding her expression.


    After a long while of waiting, guards made the rounds announcing the continuation of the journey. Under heavy guard, the convoy of carriages made its way to the forest at the edge of the fields, and continued through the forest until arriving outside a massive fenced-in building. Guards with dogs were stationed all along the garden and the small plaza in front of the mansion. One by one, the carriages stopped in front of the main gates, dispensed its passengers and were then led to the side to be kept under guard.

 Chapter 37: Warm Welcome

    Walking up towards the house, she could not help but be amazed at how opulent and expensive everything around her appeared. The path was laid with polished marble, what looked like a gold statue adorned the massive multi-stage fountain in the middle of the plaza. Up and down rows of perfectly trimmed hedges, bushes and benches carved from wood she had never seen before, let alone touched.


    ¡°Is It frightening?¡± Elistin held out her hand to her, and she took it, partially to remain upright on the heels, and partially due to the overwhelming sights before her.


    ¡°¡­ Your house is not at all small, but this is a little too much for me¡­ And even walking in the front door¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Just remember what I taught you earlier today, and you¡¯ll be fine. Stay close at first though.¡±


    ¡°Can I take off my shoes? They¡¯re awful.¡± Her request was met with a clean denial from Elistin.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk to anyone¡­ And if you must, keep it short, and polite¡­ Then walk away.¡± Carys gave her a stern glance.


    They walked up the large steps to the house, easily wide enough to allow an army to traverse all at once. Behind massive pillars smooth, cut marble were equally massive, gilded doors which swung up with uncanny ease. They reminded her of the archive doors.


    What met her inside was an equally vast entrance hall: Gilded frames, vast draping curtains of the finest silk and velvet. Expensive vases, even a carafe of pure gold, and cups of silver had been brought out for the occasion. To top it off, the hall was flooding steadily with people. A short wait of uncomfortable stares followed as she could not help but feel vulnerable and exposed in such a vast crowd. It was nothing like a crowd at the marketplace or even in front of a band of musicians. Where a merchant or customer is focused on the product, everyone inside the hall seemed focused on a single issue: Namely to observe one another for error, for improper dress, or perhaps even to judge the value of the next person¡¯s rings, or social standing due to a lack of such.


    Hushed whispers echoed in the hall until someone banged a stick on the floor.


    ¡°Noble folk! Your attention please, your host; Radwind of Wellitz!¡±


    She tried to look, but extravagant dresses and headwear whole d¨¦cor easily her own height, blocked any chance of having a look. Frank curiosity had taken over inside of her, and she felt like trying to jump to see.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Psst¡­ Come here, I¡¯ll piggyback you.¡± Rein knelt and allowed her to climb onto his back. He stood back up and though still difficult, she could finally see the steps, upon which stood a big muscular man in military regalia. Behind her, she could hear a few whispers commenting on Rein¡¯s uncouth behavior. She drew his attention to it, but he merely scoffed and raised her just a little bit further up.


    ¡°Welcome dear friends! Colleagues! Enemies! People I know! People who I lent money! Those of you who found my invitation in the gutter and decided to tag along!¡±


    A wave of laughter swept over the assembled masses.


    ¡°Today! I invited you all here to share in the festivities! As the newly appointed Chief Imperial Advisor, I urge you all to be nice to me if you wish to mooch me for some favors!¡±


    Another round of laughter and some added applause rolled over the room.


    ¡°Jokes aside! The ballroom is open, the buffet is open. Please do not hesitate to ask my servants for anything you desire, and I do really mean, anything! Except my money! You won¡¯t get any! I promise you that!¡±


    ¡°Hey Raddy! You don¡¯t suppose you¡¯ve opened up your cellar eh?¡± A voice shouted back.


    ¡°Oy! Lord Erdwin, naughty bastard! This is an unseemly thing to announce, but yes, for any basic needs like water, wine or recreational activities, please ask the servants to show you the way!¡±


    ¡°Thanks Raddy! You¡¯re a real boon!¡±


    ¡°Ahem¡­ And now! Mingle! Enjoy the music and please¡­ For the love of the Empire, dance!¡±


    The crowd began spreading itself out. Most headed for the sound of the most grotesque string instrument music she had ever heard in her life. A few obviously gluttonous people nearly devoured the servants for directions to still their hunger. Especially in the corners, nobles shared hushed whispers with servants whom nodded and led them out of the room. Some sort of high-pitched screeching sounds began flowing from a balcony overlooking the ballroom.


    Rein knelt and let her climb off. Carys whom kept looking around for prying eyes nodded and they all began heading for the ballroom.


    ¡°Are they mincing live bats up there? She whispered to Rein, whom almost burst out into laughter.


    ¡°Ferran! It¡¯s music! The very best of it. The finest of stringed instruments, and likely some brass too¡­¡± He stepped in behind her and unceremoniously put his hands over her ears, giving her a moment¡¯s relief.


    ¡°You should just wait and see! Lots of people today will fall over when a particularly sweet note stirs their bodies¡­ Like all of their blood suddenly gathering in one place!¡± Tilia grinned, but was almost immediately given a determined whack on the head by Carys. ¡°Tili¡­ Language!¡±


    ¡°Sorry¡­ It¡¯s true though.¡±


    ¡°Even rats would fall over if exposed to this¡­¡± She mumbled, while removing Rein¡¯s hands from her head, instantly regretting her decision.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Elistin cut through the conversation.


    ¡°Hey, how come I get wacked on the head, but Ferran doesn¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°Her first time at such an event¡­ Deal with it.¡± Carys retorted.


    ¡°Time for you all to do your jobs¡­ Good luck out there, and please¡­ Please don¡¯t find yourselves in the cellar¡­ After what happened to you two last time¡­¡± Elistin threw both Carys and Rein a look of concern.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be okay.¡± Carys nodded, and began to slowly melt into the crowd.


    ¡°I can have a good time if I have to.

 Chapter 38: Decadence

    The party continued. The first bottles of wine had been readily consumed, and as intoxication began to appear in the crowd, so did the conversations ramp up in volume. She had finally worked up enough courage to leave Elistin¡¯s side to explore the dancefloor. Already she had managed to somehow deflect a couple of bloated nobles whom had shown an interest in her inability to spin around repeatedly in some man¡¯s sweaty embrace. One had gone on to suggest they unwind in the cellar, but a bystander had intervened and given the man a proper tirade about decency.


    As she clumsily made her way through the crowd, bumping into people as she struggled with her balance, she tried to listen in on the conversations.


    ¡°You should just have seen her dress¡­ It was awful!¡±


    ¡°The nerve of some people you know¡­¡±


    ¡°Looks like my wife¡¯s about to get noisy again¡­¡±


    ¡°No husband, you¡¯ve had quite enough already!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, I should beat my servants more¡­¡±


    Just idle, and uninteresting chatter. She moved closer to the long tables loaded down with expensive foods and drinks made by the blood of commoners, and judging by one label, from the blood of commoners. Surrounding the tables were important nobles, merchants and even soldiers, all gorging on the food. One particularly bloated man was drinking a thick goopy sauce straight from a gravy boat; the sickly, orange fluid overflowing his mouth and seeping down onto his clothes. Across the table, several similar scenes were playing out: Men and women alike, slurping, shoving and mixing the most varied of foods into a murky, vile sludge before feasting upon it like any carrion bird would a freshly dead victim.


    ¡°Dear me¡­ That Marvis¡­ Quite like a pig that one.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear? He once ate two whole pigs¡­¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°How does that even fit¡­ No¡­ I do not want to know, at all¡­¡±


    ¡°Say. Have you heard? Supposedly, there are assassins here!¡±


    ¡°Oh please, that joke is so old now¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, and by the way Lady Asalys¡­ Your husband. I saw him head for the cellar escorted by two¡­ Rather cute young boys¡­¡±


    The woman turned beet red, and rushed off while the other women remained, laughing. By the table, one of the nobles had apparently eaten his fill. He then staggered over to one of the nearby servant girls, whom hurriedly produced a large bucket. The noble then proceeded to explosively fill the bucket, sending a shower of orange bile, chunked with pieces of food into the bucket, and all over the servant girl, whom seemed to be praying silently for death. Then, without waiting, he wiped himself on the servant girl¡¯s chest, and went back to stuffing his face. The girl, taken aback and shaken from the experience was escorted away by two other servants.


    She turned on her heels and backed slowly away, heading back to the ball.


    ¡°Have you heard? Someone broke into the northern garrison, killed a lot of soldiers, and a prisoner.¡±


    ¡°I heard. Nasty business. Rumor has it that beneath the garrison they have built a prison complex and a big torture chamber.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true, I heard it from a business partner. Apparently, they deal with the most dangerous children down there.¡±


    ¡°Children? Dangerous? Surely you jest.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure¡­ Parricide perps, thieves and assassins¡­ Awful criminals, using children to kill for them¡­ Horrendous¡­ And they pay the price.¡±


    ¡°Yes, all well and such, but let¡¯s go get something to eat¡­ Hopefully the Pig of Freisel is done stuffing his face¡­¡±


    She looked around for a little bit, and soon came across a familiar mask in the crowd.


    ¡°Oh? Little lady? Are you perhaps lost?¡± She could see the woman¡¯s eyes through the mask, looking at her intently.


    ¡°N-no. Sorry I, just got the person wrong!¡± She replied, but before she got halfway, the woman had turned on her heels and left her. Embarrassed that she had mistaken someone else for Elistin, she resumed looking. Despite searching for a long time, she failed to find anyone familiar. A sneaking feeling of fear began to creep up on her. Her looking became more frantic and her breath quickened. The eyes of everyone were upon her, she felt it, and despite it all, nobody made any contact. Her mind occupied, she failed to see the pair of hands reaching out for her. The next thing she felt was a hand holding some sort of cloth over her nose and mouth. She began to struggle, but her eyesight was already fading as she began to doze off.

 Chapter 39: Bad Guests

    ¡°Ferran¡­¡±


    ¡°Ferran?¡±


    She woke up to find herself resting on a bench. Her head was in Carys¡¯s lap, and her expression softened when she saw her open her eyes.


    ¡°Carys?¡±


    ¡°Ferran¡­ You were told to be careful. It was by pure chance that I got hold of you¡­¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± She tried to upright herself, but Carys gently kept her lying down.


    ¡°It, would be best not to think about it.¡±


    ¡°But tell me.¡±


    Carys looked up at the sky. ¡°At parties like this¡­ There are some, men and women both¡­ Who enjoy touching and using children like you. My guess is that they used some damp cloth laced with Falsyn flower extract. It¡¯s very expensive, but also very effective at inducing sleep¡­ Just one whiff is enough.¡±


    ¡°I remember¡­ Back where I used to be, in the sewer¡­ The priest would sometimes ask for children to be brought to him¡­ Especially the ones who were not working¡­¡± She was interrupted by Carys before she could finish.


    ¡°Remember Ferran. Money is power¡­ It can buy even lives. In wars, abuse is common¡­ But also in peace. The decadent nobles can enjoy anything they want, from the finest of wine to the most chaste of people. And nothing. Nothing can stop them from doing this.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ Whoever did this to me managed to sneak up on me without me noticing¡­¡±


    Carys nodded, her expression turning from gentle to grim in an instant. ¡°I knew it¡­ It¡¯s been bothering me since we arrived here. Soon after we split up¡­ It¡¯s what made me look for you.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°I heard some nobles talk about assassins here.¡±


    ¡°Not impossible. We should meet up with the others¡­ Can you walk?¡±


    ¡°Can I take off these awful shoes?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Sure, but carry them okay?¡±


    They walked together towards the main door. She held on to Carys¡¯s hand to not lose track of her. Some others had also taken to the outside to get some fresh air. Servants still walked among them with trays of food and bottles of wine and other fine spirits. A group of young friends were singing together on the fountain¡¯s edge when one of their number fell backwards into the fountain. Immediately, anyone who saw it began laughing as servants rushed to with blankets and assisted the young man out of the cold water.


    ¡°Speaking of water¡­ During the last storm¡­ Someone murdered the last of the Watching Ravens¡­ What was his name again¡­ Erus¡­ Elvia¡­ No. It doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    As she walked, she could feel Carys¡¯s hand tighten around her own, to the point she yelped out in pain. Realizing, Carys eased up on her grip.


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    ¡°You knew the ones they were talking about?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know it¡­¡± She began, looking around conspiratorially. ¡°Watching Ravens, was a group of¡­ Well¡­ It used to be me and Rein¡¯s group, but then Rein screwed up a mission¡­ And the others were all killed¡­¡±


    ¡°Really? How come you and Rein get along so well then?¡±


    ¡°Good question¡­ Deep down, I trust him. I hate what he did, and the suffering he put me through, but he¡¯s a nice guy deep down, and easily, I would have made the same mistakes in his stead¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, there you are! We¡¯ve been looking high and low for you¡­¡± A little way over on their left, Elistin approached them, along with Tilia, Indas and Farsilden. Her face tinted with concern beneath the regal appearance. ¡°It will soon be time for Sir Radwind¡¯s speech¡­ Hm? What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Elly¡­¡± We have a problem.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been made aware. Everyone seems to have been exposed to some means of incapacitation.¡±


    ¡°Someone stuck some pill in my pudding¡­¡± Tilia looked as dismayed as she was angry about losing a tasty treat.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Rein...¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here. Sorry I was a little busy.¡± Rein approached them with determination while straightening his jacket. ¡°I had a problem with a masked gentleman on the balcony¡­ Unfortunately, he choked on an olive.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re all together. That¡¯s good. My lady, we should attend the speech. The rest of you¡­ You are now authorized to open the emergency packs. Keep them hidden, but ready.¡± Farsilden nodded curtly seeing them already prepared. ¡°Ferran¡­ Put your shoes on.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine Ferran, just walk around without them¡­ You¡¯ve done a good job using them this long.¡±

 Chapter 40: Blue is for nobles

    Back inside the mansion, she found that a portion of the ballroom had been occupied by a wooden stage. The servants were in the process of carrying in the last sections of the modular stage, and the guests were beginning to gather around.


    To thunderous applause, Radwind walked up on the stage and immediately gestured for the crown to quiet down.


    ¡°My dear guests! It has been a wonderful evening! No doubt you have all enjoyed yourselves! But now¡­ The party¡¯s¡­ About to start! Please share a drink with me in a toast to the continuation of Imperium, and the glory of the Emperor!¡±


    ¡°All hail the Emperor!¡± The crowd shouted five times in unison. Servants carrying trays with crystal cups filled nearly to the brim with red wine began making their rounds. While looking up to the stage, she suddenly found herself holding a crystal cup in her hands, the wine barely remaining within the walls of the cup.


    ¡°Am I supposed to¡­ Drink it?¡± She turned to Elistin.


    ¡°Yes, but you shouldn¡¯t. Just to be safe. If you are curious, I¡¯ll let you try some when we get back.¡±


    Up at the stage, Radwind raised his cup, and everyone else followed suit.


    ¡°A toast! To the Emperor!¡±


    ¡°Cheers!¡±


    Despite the toast, not a whole lot of people drank the wine, but Radwind emptied the cup into his mouth without a hint of worry. Suddenly, a gasp of shock rolled over the crowd. Up on stage, Radwind had frozen in place, clutching his throat. The cup laid shattered at his feet as he made some guttural noises.


    ¡°Hah! I got you good!¡± Just as quickly, he returned to normal, causing a sigh of relief shortly followed by applause.


    ¡°Imagine if the wine was actually poisoned! What a lazy way to die!¡±


    A thudding sound echoed across the ballroom, followed by a wet crack, and a dull thud. Then panic erupted. Radwind had fallen over. The content of his head starting to pour out through a hole in his skull. The guests all turned into wild animals. People began scrambling for the doors. Panic was total and instant, with each noble visibly ready to kill to get out.


    ¡°Rein! Carys! Help me protect Indas, Tilia and Ferran! And make for the exit near the stage!¡± Elistin shouted over the panicking masses. As they waded through the oncoming horde, Rein doing his best to absorb the impact of any wayward noble to shield the others. Already the signs of stampede laid strewn across the increasingly reddening floor. Screams of pain and terror mixed with one another, as nobles trampled each other to escape. Particularly children and teenagers had fallen victim to the bulldozing effect of the moment; Their bodies shattered and bleeding on the floor. As they continued. She came across a freshly torn jaw, and soon saw the owner, a little girl, lying in a pool of her own blood. Nearby was likely the girl¡¯s mother, her face shattered, and currently being trod upon by a particularly heavy-looking nobleman.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Almost there¡­ Looks like we¡¯re free of the worst for now.¡±


    Ahead, the door swung open to reveal Farsilden waiting for them. He was armed with a longsword and had clearly been in a fight.


    ¡°My Lady. Follow me, there is little time. Indas and Carys, bring up the rear, Ferran and Rein, take point.¡±


    Immediately after his order, ripping noises could be heard from Carys as she cut her dress to facilitate movement, and used strips of cloth to tie the loose ends tight.


    She looked down at her own dress, and made a hesitant glance over at Elistin. To her relief, she nodded to her, and she tore a gap in the dress using the combat knife from the emergency pack. Immediately she felt relieved at being able to move mostly freely and rushed up alongside Rein to gain favorable distance.


    ¡°You still think this party is boring?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay now that I can move and breathe.¡±


    ¡°You really should leave those pumps too.¡±


    She was about to drop the shoes when she saw a pair of hooded figures appearing through the door ahead, weapons raised. She immediately hurled her knife at one of them, but missed. Continuing the rush as they split up, she threw one of the shoes at the figure, which too missed and upon hitting the wall, shattered in pieces like glass.


    The hooded figure countercharged her and made a wide sweep with a longsword, which she managed to avoid. The assassin immediately followed up by knocking her off balance with a kick, causing her to fall to the floor. Her attacker coming in for the kill she knocked the last shoe on the sword causing it to split in half while she rolled to avoid his finishing attack. Avoiding it, she found herself unable to move, being pinned down by a heavy boot upon her dress.


    ¡°Ferran, thrust!¡± Rein shouted to her. She raised the sharp end of the shoe just as Rein kicked her attacker, causing a slip. A moment later, the sharp end pierced deeply into the assassin¡¯s throat, causing some guttural choking and a flow of blood to drip down on her face. She rolled the drowning man aside and uprighted herself to find Rein repeatedly stabbing the other attacker.


    ¡°That was¡­ Easy¡­¡± Rein sighed. ¡°Glass pumps huh Ferran?¡±


    The others began catching up to them.


    ¡°Ferran? You murdered him with your shoe? That¡¯s awesome!¡± Tilia smiled excitedly.


    ¡°Do you hear that?¡± Guards up ahead¡­ Quick. Farsilden, bloody your blade, Carys take Rein, and Tili, help Ferran. We were just attacked and gravely injured during it.¡±


    The others nodded.


    A patrol of guards soon appeared and simply passed them by as they pretended to limp their way towards the carriage. The guards immediately began securing the dead bodies.


    ¡°Ah, excuse me, may I ask¡­¡±


    ¡°Not now soldier. My lady and her children are gravely injured and we must seek first aid. Have some of your troop escort us to the carriages, immediately!¡±


    ¡°A¡­ Ah yes my lord!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t my lord me, I use my hands for my livelihood.¡± Farsilden grumbled.

 Chapter 41: Exploitation

    Chaos had erupted in the Imperial capital. Rumor of Sir Radwind¡¯s death had begun as a whisper, then turned into a shout, and finally as the full scope of the incident had become clear, complete chaos in the streets. In the power vacuum left behind, several influential families had begun gathering support for their ascension to the now open position of power. As a final issue, the Imperial Senate had voted in favor of forming an elite unit of Sewer Cats, now restyled and titled into the Imperial Justiciars, whose sole task was to root out assassins, and perpetrators. The first few arrests had already been made on the first day.


    ¡°That¡­ Is the situation we¡¯re now faced with¡­ And, let me make this clear¡­ This is an opportunity¡­ But also, a great gamble. I¡¯ll have to send everyone out there, you too Farsilden.¡±


    ¡°My lady? It will be a pleasure to act, but will you be okay alone?¡±


    She nodded and produced three envelopes from the drawer next to her chair. ¡°These are contracts¡­ Two are assassinations of high-ranking officials just across the border. The last one is for an infiltration and retrieval of critical documents¡­ So, I¡¯ll give you a chance to decide. All the intel is inside these envelopes, and I¡¯m forbidden from opening them.¡±Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°How much force are we allowed to use?¡± Tilia was first to ask.¡±


    ¡°For the assassinations, the flashier the better, my masters want to send a message after all. Do you want it?¡±


    ¡°I do! I do! I¡¯ll blow them all into mincemeat! Can Ferran come too?¡±


    ¡°Before you answer that my lady¡­ Please allow me to take Ferran along for one of the missions¡­ I still find her style lacking in important areas.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay¡­ Ferran?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with Farsilden.¡± She nodded. A glance over at Tilia revealed furious headshakes.


    ¡°Carys, Rein¡­ Which one do you want? Assassination, or infiltration?¡±


    The two exchanged looks without a single word, and Rein reached for the letter with the assassination.


    ¡°That means you and Ferran get the infiltration one. If the documents are obtained, you may do whatever you please.¡±


    ¡°As you wish.¡± He took the envelope and swiftly cut it open, taking the piece of paper inside to read. As she watched him expectantly, she noticed behind his stony exterior a moment of surprise. He then put the note away and nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. We¡¯ll prepare and set out immediately. But I¡¯d like a moment of your time my lady.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­ Well, good luck to you all then!¡±


    ¡°Good luck Ferran¡­ Keeping up with him won¡¯t be easy, but do your best.¡± Rein gave her a reassuring pat on the back, while the others threw her their utmost sympathy. Under the show of concern, she began wondering what sort of experience she was in for. She would not have to wait long at all.

 Chapter 42: Evelyn

    The second floor seemed quiet, and their progress was swift. Despite being an adult, and normally akin to a grumpy old merchant, Farsilden moved with terrifying speed and though she was close to him, she felt certain that if she lost sight of him for but a moment, he would have disappeared entirely. Not a single normal sign of presence was emanating from Farsilden. No excitement, no breath or hesitation. It was not a feeling, but the certain knowledge that murderous intent was about to choke her out.


    ¡°Stop.¡± His order froze her in her tracks.


    ¡°Tell me how many are up ahead.¡±


    ¡°Nobody?¡± She listened in again, and heard nothing out of the ordinary.


    ¡°Wrong.¡±


    ¡°How can you tell?¡±


    ¡°Good question. Your eagerness is commendable. Behind those doors is a child, and two adults. Children are very noisy creatures. The adults, are likely man and woman. They are watching their child play with toys. Listen close. Suppress your excitement, your concern and thoughts and just listen. Listen close. Many sounds are drowned out by merely the beating of your own heart.¡±


    Putting her best efforts in, she listened close, and could after a little while make out a single wooden clacking sound.


    ¡°There¡¯s one¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, the child dropped a wooden block on the floor.¡±


    ¡°So, will we kill them?¡±


    ¡°A less desirable option. This is where you differ from a professional. Killing children, is abominable. Do not misunderstand. At times it will be necessary. At times, a child will in desperation take up arms against you, and you must slay without pause. But for the sake of killing, never.¡±


    ¡°So how will we get past them?¡±


    ¡°Your decision. Our objective is behind this room, one way or the other, we¡¯ll pass.¡±


    She nodded and readied herself. Four shots prepared. No other options. A deep breath. She confirmed the door was unlocked and opening inwards. She prepared her run and threw herself at the door.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    With a loud crash, the door flew open. The two adults barely reacted. Only the child flinched. She took aim and fired a bolt at the child. It almost struck home, but was deflected at the last second.


    Hidden from view by curtains, and shadows appeared seven armed guards whom all pointed a sword or a spear at her.


    She jumped to her feet and drew her daggers.


    ¡°Well done¡­ You murdered my servants¡­ Guards. Kill her!¡± The woman shouted. The doors behind her suddenly slammed shut and the guards closed in on her. She seized the initiative and attacked the closest guard. Despite his skill at hiding, he was an average fighter at best and she elegantly parried his heavy sweeping attacks, before adding the sharp end of her dagger to his neck. The guard groaned, but no matter how hard she tried, she failed to pull her weapon free.


    She pulled her head back just in time as a razor-sharp spear tip was thrust at her face, the sharp metal leaving a deep cut in her cheek and severing the cloth holding her mask in place. Clutching her cheek, she jumped back, blood seeping freely from the deep gash.


    ¡°¡­ Evelyn?¡± A voice filled with shock. She looked up to meet the man¡¯s stare, her face revealed.


    It felt like time froze. Something within her stirred, but nothing surfaced, any other thought drowned out by sheer adrenaline.


    ¡°Evelyn¡­ Damn you three times over husband! Didn¡¯t you get rid of her!?¡± The illusion shattered, as the woman began to verbally attack the man. ¡°You told me she was dead!¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I thought she was!¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, kill her! Kill her, kill her now!¡± The woman shouted hysterically while waving her free arm at her. The child on her other arm.


    The guards threw themselves into a furious assault. Barely recovering from the surprise, she jumped clear of the two spears thrust at her, parrying a sword as she landed back on the floor. She raised her arm, and let loose the final bolt in chamber of her arm weapon, piercing her attacker right between the eyes. Before the guard could fall she jumped in behind him, the dying body receiving two jabs by spears in short succession. With the swords out of action, she used the opportunity to close the range. As the spearmen tried to pry their weapons loose she rushed the nearest one, thinking he was unarmed. It was just a glance, but she could not keep herself from it, looking at the man that had uttered the strange name. Her hesitation came due almost immediately.


    A heavy metal glove struck the side of her head. The blow dazzled, her, but having been made in a panic had not the power behind it to knock her out. She staggered back as the nearest guard drew his sword and slashed, missing but followed up with a downwards strike with professional skill. Just in time she raised her arm, taking the blow on her mechanical vambrace, the edge breaking the precise machinery inside and only stopping at the metal backing. The guard kept pressing, while the other guard, whom had managed to pull his from his dead compatriot, thrust his spear at her. She deflected the sword pinning her, but failed to dodge the spear.


    A moment later she felt the sharp spear tip bore into her thigh. She screamed, and fell to the floor as her leg gave way. Now firmly held in place, the sword-wielding guard raised his weapon for the finishing blow.

 Chapter 43 & 44: Contingency

    The second floor seemed quiet, and their progress was swift. Despite being an adult, and normally akin to a grumpy old merchant, Farsilden moved with terrifying speed and though she was close to him, she felt certain that if she lost sight of him for but a moment, he would have disappeared entirely. Not a single normal sign of presence was emanating from Farsilden. No excitement, no breath or hesitation. It was not a feeling, but the certain knowledge that murderous intent was about to choke her out.


    ¡°Stop.¡± His order froze her in her tracks.


    ¡°Tell me how many are up ahead.¡±


    ¡°Nobody?¡± She listened in again, and heard nothing out of the ordinary.


    ¡°Wrong.¡±


    ¡°How can you tell?¡±


    ¡°Good question. Your eagerness is commendable. Behind those doors is a child, and two adults. Children are very noisy creatures. The adults, are likely man and woman. They are watching their child play with toys. Listen close. Suppress your excitement, your concern and thoughts and just listen. Listen close. Many sounds are drowned out by merely the beating of your own heart.¡±


    Putting her best efforts in, she listened close, and could after a little while make out a single wooden clacking sound.


    ¡°There¡¯s one¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, the child dropped a wooden block on the floor.¡±


    ¡°So, will we kill them?¡±


    ¡°A less desirable option. This is where you differ from a professional. Killing children, is abominable. Do not misunderstand. At times it will be necessary. At times, a child will in desperation take up arms against you, and you must slay without pause. But for the sake of killing, never.¡±


    ¡°So how will we get past them?¡±


    ¡°Your decision. Our objective is behind this room, one way or the other, we¡¯ll pass.¡±


    She nodded and readied herself. Four shots prepared. No other options. A deep breath. She confirmed the door was unlocked and opening inwards. She prepared her run and threw herself at the door.


    With a loud crash, the door flew open. The two adults barely reacted. Only the child flinched. She took aim and fired a bolt at the child. It almost struck home, but was deflected at the last second.


    Hidden from view by curtains, and shadows appeared seven armed guards whom all pointed a sword or a spear at her.


    She jumped to her feet and drew her daggers.


    ¡°Well done¡­ You murdered my servants¡­ Guards. Kill her!¡± The woman shouted. The doors behind her suddenly slammed shut and the guards closed in on her. She seized the initiative and attacked the closest guard. Despite his skill at hiding, he was an average fighter at best and she elegantly parried his heavy sweeping attacks, before adding the sharp end of her dagger to his neck. The guard groaned, but no matter how hard she tried, she failed to pull her weapon free.


    She pulled her head back just in time as a razor-sharp spear tip was thrust at her face, the sharp metal leaving a deep cut in her cheek and severing the cloth holding her mask in place. Clutching her cheek, she jumped back, blood seeping freely from the deep gash.


    ¡°¡­ Evelyn?¡± A voice filled with shock. She looked up to meet the man¡¯s stare, her face revealed.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    It felt like time froze. Something within her stirred, but nothing surfaced, any other thought drowned out by sheer adrenaline.


    ¡°Evelyn¡­ Damn you three times over husband! Didn¡¯t you get rid of her!?¡± The illusion shattered, as the woman began to verbally attack the man. ¡°You told me she was dead!¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I thought she was!¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, kill her! Kill her, kill her now!¡± The woman shouted hysterically while waving her free arm at her. The child on her other arm.


    The guards threw themselves into a furious assault. Barely recovering from the surprise, she jumped clear of the two spears thrust at her, parrying a sword as she landed back on the floor. She raised her arm, and let loose the final bolt in chamber of her arm weapon, piercing her attacker right between the eyes. Before the guard could fall she jumped in behind him, the dying body receiving two jabs by spears in short succession. With the swords out of action, she used the opportunity to close the range. As the spearmen tried to pry their weapons loose she rushed the nearest one, thinking he was unarmed. It was just a glance, but she could not keep herself from it, looking at the man that had uttered the strange name. Her hesitation came due almost immediately.


    A heavy metal glove struck the side of her head. The blow dazzled, her, but having been made in a panic had not the power behind it to knock her out. She staggered back as the nearest guard drew his sword and slashed, missing but followed up with a downwards strike with professional skill. Just in time she raised her arm, taking the blow on her mechanical vambrace, the edge breaking the precise machinery inside and only stopping at the metal backing. The guard kept pressing, while the other guard, whom had managed to pull his from his dead compatriot, thrust his spear at her. She deflected the sword pinning her, but failed to dodge the spear.


    A moment later she felt the sharp spear tip bore into her thigh. She screamed, and fell to the floor as her leg gave way. Now firmly held in place, the sword-wielding guard raised his weapon for the finishing blow.


    In the blink of an eye, the spearman above her had fell over on his side, but not before a spurt of gore had spattered all over her.


    She opened her eyes to see Farsilden standing above her, wiping clean a big, bloodied hatchet.


    ¡°Alive huh? You¡¯ve done enough here.¡± She watched him take a hold of the spear, and in one fluid, and painless motion, expertly cut the spear in two. ¡°I¡¯ll leave it in¡­ No time for anything else but first aid¡­¡± He sealed up the speartip under a layer of bandages and used his own belt to put pressure above the wound. Though she was in pain, a thought occupied her mind: Who was Evelyn? Was it her own name? Why did those two know it? The question circled around in her mind. The dead bodies around her were all leaking blood on the floor. The two last spearmen laid slain close by. One had a hatchet embedded in the back of his head. The helmet split, and the blade poking out halfway into his skull through the top. The other one had the other guard¡¯s sword thrust through his neck. Farsilden reappeared and came over to her. She then felt his hand firmly slap her cheek, which brought back some of the ambience.


    ¡°The objective is secure. We¡¯re returning home¡­ I am willing to admit Ferran, I am surprised and relieved you are alive¡­ Sit still, I¡¯ll give you something to counter your hands.¡± He reached into his belt and retrieved a container, with a cover securing a needle. A slight sting was followed by a strange sensation of the growing pain dissipating like clouds under the sun. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll get you out of here.¡±


    ---


    ¡°How¡¯s she doing?¡± Elistin entered the room pale as a ghost and barely composed. He nodded reassuringly and gestured towards the girl sleeping on the bench.


    ¡°She will be fine My Lady. Her Thigh has been pierced, but I will attempt to treat it.¡±


    ¡°Chance of success?¡±


    ¡°Seventy percent. Ten percent says she¡¯ll lose her leg. I have prepared the documents we retrieved for your appraisal. They are all in that box over there¡­ But if I may?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°This was a setup. Whoever gave you these contracts were planning to have some of us killed.¡±


    She bit down hard on her lip, skin tearing and blood leaking down from the corner of her mouth. Without hesitation she opened the box and retrieved the documents inside. As she leafed through them, her expression only grew bleaker.


    ¡°As you can see¡­ We encountered a problem. The documents tell the entire story. Her mother, a servant, was not even physically ready to carry her. It has some records of medical expenses up until the moment her father attempted to drown her in a cistern. After that, she¡¯s out of sight¡­ And who knows what happened to her in the sewers¡­¡±


    ¡°That chapter, is best left buried.¡± his mistress¡¯s face seemed saddened.


    ¡°Yes, my lady, I agree.¡±


    ¡°What about the others?¡±


    ¡°No word yet. Have faith, I trained them myself.¡±


    ¡°Someone will pay for this¡­ We need to get the others back, but before that¡­ double the serum dosage.¡±


    ¡°My lady. That may cause actual loss of memory instead of suppression.¡±


    ¡°Yes. It will. Better to be safe¡­¡±


    ¡°As you wish.¡±

 Chapter 45: Disaster

    ¡°Rein. Stay with me okay? It¡¯s just a little scratch, nothing to worry about!¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding me? There¡¯s a hole in my torso¡­ It stings!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean hole?¡±


    ¡°Yeah ugh¡­ Never mind, fine mess this.¡±


    They kept on running. Following shortly behind, the sound of boots and chainmail. The assassination had failed, and all they had achieved was the retrieval of a stack of documents whose content had stunned Rein but for a moment, and that was when the arrow had struck him. The wound was deep and leaking blood despite her best attempts at plugging him up on the fly.


    ¡°Think you could stop bleeding? You¡¯re leading them right to us.¡±


    ¡°Sure¡­ ack. No problem¡­ I¡¯ll just¡­ Just¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, eyes ope¡­¡±


    Suddenly Rein¡¯s body became dead weight, and with nothing to keep them both going, they both keeled over and landed heavily on the stone road. She climbed to her feet, gave him a few slaps and checked his pulse. Horrified, she found it weak. She took hold of his arms, and pulled him into a backstreet, a red stripe drawing up behind him.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°Wake up!¡± She hit his cheek, and to her relief, he seemed to come to.


    ¡°Just go¡­¡±


    ¡°Sorry. I can¡¯t. I still owe you for dragging me out of that mess way back.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡± He coughed. ¡°We¡¯re even.¡±


    ¡°That way! Follow the trail!¡± Shouting voices just a little down the street. The footsteps drew closer and closer. She stood and drew her blades, ready to ambush the pursuers.


    Before she could act, a series of explosions and screaming echoed down the street. She peeked around the corner to see two familiar faces looking in her direction.


    ¡°Tili! Indas!¡±


    ¡°Hi Carys! Sorry we¡¯re late, we got held up at our location.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you, but Rein¡¯s in pretty bad shape¡­ I need to find¡­ Huh?¡± She turned back around to find that Rein was nowhere to be found. The trail of blood leading up to a door belonging to the nearest building. Without waiting, she ran up and kicked the door open, weapons at the ready.


    ¡°Stop.¡± She felt cold metal against her throat. ¡°We mean you no harm. Lower your weapons, and we¡¯ll treat your friend.¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°You are the enemy of the guard, that makes you an asset to us...¡±


    She sheathed her blades and turned to face the person next to her. An older man, that was deceptively stealthy. Indas and Tilia soon entered and though the situation felt tense, no further fighting began. The old man ordered one of the other men in the room to wash away the blood outside and another to get more fresh bandages and remedies.


    ¡°I¡­ I guess I should thank you for this¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, you should.¡± Another voice spoke up, the source soon appearing in the nearby doorway. ¡°I¡¯m sure Elly would be distraught to have you die on her.¡±


    ¡°Wh¡­ Sarvalen!?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve sure grown Carys¡­ The others too¡­ How¡¯s my sister doing these days?¡±

 Chapter 46: Plan of Escape

    ¡°I understand that much. I¡¯ve heard the stories about the Justiciars. They¡¯re frighteningly effective¡­ I still don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re doing here?¡±


    ¡°Contract.¡± She answered curtly. Despite Sarvalen¡¯s timely rescue, she still felt wary around him. He knew what she did, he was Elistin¡¯s brother after all, but despite it, something told her he had some agenda all of his own.¡±


    ¡°I see, and you screwed up?¡± His question stung.


    She bit her lip angrily and nodded. ¡°We were set up. Our target was Rein¡¯s actual mother. She nearly got us killed.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Tilia interrupted. ¡°I saw my papa!¡±


    ¡°You did? And you¡¯re both unhurt?¡± She looked at her in disbelief. The whole ambush had been practically perfect and had even brought down Rein, without question, the same sort of plan must have been set up for Tilia and Indas as well, so how they survived, unhurt at that, seemed a mystery.


    ¡°Yep!¡± Tilia smiled as Indas began forming a sentence with one hand and illustrating a gigantic explosion with his other.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    ¡°¡­ ¡­¡±


    ¡°You blew up the whole house!?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh! Elly did ask us to make it as flashy as possible!¡±


    She sighed and put her head in her hands. ¡°Oh Tili¡­¡±


    Tilia nodded and gave her a hug. ¡°I don¡¯t care. He sold me as a toy to that evil bureaucrat. You, Rein, Indas, Elly and Ferran too are my family now!¡±


    She returned the embrace and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s good you arrived when you did¡­¡±


    ¡°Sir. We have managed to stabilize the boy, but he won¡¯t survive past sunrise if he doesn¡¯t get any medical attention.¡± One of the men entered the room and handed Sarvalen some jumbled together notes.


    ¡°Wonderful¡­ With the city on lockdown, there¡¯s no way we¡¯ll get out¡­¡±


    ¡°Actually, that¡¯s wrong.¡±


    ¡°It is! I can blow a hole in just about anything! I¡¯ll turn a portion of the wall into a pile of rubble.¡±


    ¡°No¡­ That would just make the guards come after you in earnest¡­ But a distraction might prove valuable. Create a distraction at the docks, while we smuggle Rein out by boat down the river.¡±


    ¡°Carys?¡± Tilia threw her an expectant look. She sighed and agreed to her request. ¡°Go wild.¡±


    Tilia lit up like she had just won the grand prize, and half-dragged, half-carried Indas out of the room and back out on the street.


    ¡°I hope she won¡¯t go overboard¡­¡± Sarvalen sighed.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to stick around to find out. Trust me.¡±


    ¡°And here I thought I was done with you people when we separated¡­ Guess I got that wrong¡­ No matter. Let¡¯s get going!¡±

 Chapter 47: Manipulated

    ¡°Where¡­ Am I?¡± She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt unusually heavy. Her whole head felt strange, out of balance in some way. She tried to upright herself, but her body was firmly strapped to the bench. Her leg stung with pain, yet seemed unwilling to do anything.


    ¡°Good morning Ferran. You¡¯re at the house. I¡¯ve treated your leg, I accidentally hurt you during our last training session. They will likely heal if you try to keep still.¡± She could see Farsilden standing by a table, working something with his hands.


    ¡°But¡­ We weren¡¯t training¡­ We were infiltrating this house somewhere¡­¡±


    ¡°Nonsense. You¡¯ve dreamt it. From what I can tell, your dreams tend to be rather violent and disturbing.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ Where are the others?¡±


    ¡°Out doing their own missions¡­ They will return shortly I¡¯m sure. For now, I¡¯ll inject you with some pain relief and medication¡­ Lie still.¡±


    She nodded and immediately after, in rapid succession, felt six needles penetrate her skin. Farsilden worked swiftly and soon, the pain seemed to disappear.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Listen to me Ferran.¡± She blinked. He repeated his sentence, and this time, her mind began to mindlessly go along, his last words echoing in her mind and all other senses dulling.


    ¡°I hurt you by accident during training. Your thigh will be fine soon¡­¡±


    She repeated his every word, and as she did, they seemed to somehow stick inside her mind. She could remember them perfectly, and some unclear, extremely vague mental images disappeared completely.


    ¡°You know nothing of a girl named Evelyn.¡±


    ¡°Evelyn?¡±


    ¡°You have four siblings, that are busy right now, you desire to protect them, and serve your mistress Elistin with your whole being. Her words are command.¡±


    She nodded lazily, and whatever dismissive thoughts she had been considering had completely evaporated. All she could hear was his voice, and the information he was passing on to her. Like clouds, the truth began covering up all the vague memories and dreams.


    ¡°Finally, ¡­ The boy you killed in the dungeon. He was nothing but a common criminal, and he never mentioned his name. Do you understand everything so far?¡±


    She nodded. Her head felt clearer now, and she could see everything he had said shine before her very eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t remember his name¡­¡±


    ¡°That is for the best. Who are you?¡±


    ¡°I am Ferran. Elistin is my mistress, you are the butler. I don¡¯t remember any detail of my missions.¡±


    ¡°Good Ferran¡­ Now rest.¡± She felt a sting in her neck, and as she fell into the darkness once again, her last words echoed in her fleeting mind.

 Chapter 48: Taking Flight

    Surprise was total, and all that could be heard was muffled gurgling. A wave from Indas was all she needed. She quietly made her way through the open door as her brother disposed of the body in the river. Two sleeping guards inside she offed quickly with her dagger. Breaking open a strongbox, she found a crossbow which she quickly loaded using a hand crank fixture and rested it on the only window frame in the guard house. From her position, she could see the docks perfectly. Built in a circle, with the river running down the middle, the dockside was lined with big storehouses and grain silos. A variety of barges lay moored along the docks, with nearby stables housing the horses to pull the barges upriver as necessary.


    She took aim at the guard walking perpendicular, along the waterway. She could see a pair of hands emerging from the water. She took aim and put the bolt straight through the guard¡¯s skull, the dead body falling towards the water where it was caught with some effort by her big sister, and quietly lowered into the water without a sound.


    Along the waterway, Elistin¡¯s former husband and his four helpers hurriedly carried her big brother on a makeshift stretcher. She reloaded the crossbow with some effort and soon found her next target: Blocking the path ahead towards the grain barges were a pair of young dockworkers. Taking a break, they played around with a small ball in the yard in front of the grain silos. She took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, waiting for the perfect moment. As their bodies lined up, she took the shot. A moment later, the two boys stumbled and fell choking to the ground.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    They moved up towards the boat and after some work managed to load her big brother. They cut the moorings, and using sticks and oars for a head-start, the current soon took hold of the boat. Just then, there was growing shouting and she watched as another dockworker found the two dead boys and raised the alarm. Guards from other areas and guardhouses all began streaming towards the river in pursuit.


    Abandoning the crossbow and the small guardhouse she went out into the street just in time to witness a series of explosions down along the approaches to the docks. She felt sad having to leave her music box behind, but to her satisfaction, the explosions blocked off most of the direct routes and she judged the time to be right to make good her escape. As a major part of the city crumbled, she turned on her heels and ran.


    She rushed along the street and climbed the first house. Upon reaching the roof she rushed along the length and jumped from the house to the next. With only a short distance remaining she continued across the largest of the storehouses. In style, she leaped off the roof and dove into the river. Emerging from the water she was hauled aboard the grain barge.


    ¡°I¡¯ll admit¡­ By the sound of it, I was expecting the whole city to crumble¡­ I think it was a good¡­¡± He fell silent as a muffled rumble in the distance could be heard. Behind them, two of the wall¡¯s towers partially crumbled. With a smile, she began wringing her clothes. Her big sister sighed with exasperation but beneath her fa?ade she could tell she too was pleased with the outcome. Her sibling signed out a sentence and she nodded, thinking it was an appropriate solution.


    ¡°Now that we¡¯ve escaped, what¡¯s next?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll land further downstream, and from there we¡¯ll board a carriage to cross the border. I¡¯ve sent word to Elistin. All we need to do, is keep Rein alive until then.¡±

 Chapter 49: Defeated

    ¡°My lady, a message has arrived.¡±


    ¡°From who?¡±


    ¡°Sarvalen.¡±


    ¡°What could he want with me¡­¡± She took the letter and began reading. As she did, shock began to reveal itself on her face. In a fluid motion, she put down the letter and rested her head in her hands.


    ¡°My lady?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ We¡¯re betrayed. No doubt, my masters are tying up loose ends. Send a return message. Tell them to disperse. Be short, but make it clear we¡¯ve been left out to dry. Afterwards, collect the essentials, and make good your own escape.¡±


    ¡°And you my lady?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be okay. Thank you for your service, I hereby consider your debt repaid.¡±


    Suddenly, the doors burst open and a servant came rushing in.


    ¡°My lady! There are many armed soldiers approaching the mansion!¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re here. Aeris, bring yourself and the other servants to safety, Farsilden¡­ Leave now.¡± She paused for a moment. ¡°Before you go¡­ Will you be able to make it out with Ferran?¡±


    ¡°She will bleed to death. This escape will be nothing like the one during the mission. I am sorry my lady, but there is nothing I can do for her.¡±


    Elistin nodded solemnly. ¡°Erase her memories¡­ And get yourself out of here¡­ Good luck.¡±


    ¡°To you as well.¡±


    She returned to her chair and poured herself a cup of tea. The blend tasted unusually sweet. Downstairs, the main doors were knocked down, and the sound of rushing boots drew closer. Another roar, and the door to her chamber was knocked down and soldiers, armed with swords rushed in and levelled their blades at her in perfect unison. Soon their leader appeared in the doorway.


    ¡°Lady Raveilin! This is a surprise. Would you care to sit down for some tea?¡±


    ¡°Lady Elistin¡­ By order of Lord Ferresyin, at the pleasure of the emperor, I am here to place you under arrest.¡±


    ¡°It seems the alpha wolves sent the pack bitch to do their dirty work? To think that my sister would stoop to such a level.¡±


    ¡°Quiet! We know you have employed assassins to destabilize the empire with the assassination of Lord Radwind!¡±


    ¡°I did? If I wanted the late Lord Radwind dead, I assure you, that If I even had any assassins, they would have done it in a much less conspicuous manner. Committing a murder in front of a whole party, with a brutish weapon like a crossbow?¡±


    ¡°It makes no difference! Your possessions are hereby claimed by the throne, along with your titles, your land and your servants.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°Ma¡¯am, we¡¯ve secured a young girl in the basement!¡±


    ¡°Good, bring her out, at least someone will hang after this.¡±


    ¡°Already done ma¡¯am!¡±


    ¡°It is a shame¡­ Little sister¡­ That you have chosen to do this.¡± Elistin sighed.


    ¡°Quiet¡­Tirina. Listen to me. Surrender, and I can still use our late father¡¯s titles to see you free.¡±


    ¡°So that our mother dearest can use me as a bargaining chip? Marry me off to some household? You found your place little sister. Happiness, a man your age and mind. One that loved you, gave you healthy children. The scars on my body are many, some you can see, others you will never know. And I will never, go back. You have children¡­ Two. Lovely, adorable and obedient¡­ My former husband, made certain¡­ That I will have none. Tell that to mother.¡±


    ¡°Tirina¡­¡±


    ¡°Leave Avaline¡­ Go¡­ Unless you wish your children to grow up without a mother.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean¡­ Answer me Tirina!¡±


    ¡°Stay, and find out.¡±


    ¡°¡­ E-Everyone! Go! Get out now!!!¡±


    ---


    He stood among the trees, looking at the house he had spent so many years working in. He thought of the effort, the time and the back-breaking labor to get the place up and running. It had prospered under a wise and gentle hand. The guards left the house, among them, a woman quite alike his mistress. He looked at the small box in his hand, and turned the small, delicate golden handle on its side. He then turned around, and began walking, as the house behind him crumbled in flames.


    From under his jacket, he revealed a pigeon, and before he let it fly, he attached a message to its leg.


    He then disappeared into the forest.


    ---


    ¡°Shit¡­ Ouch¡­¡± His consciousness returning, he found himself in a world of pain. Tightly bound to a bed, his arms and legs firmly secured. He looked around, as his eyes accustomed to see the light of day once more.


    ¡°Welcome back¡­ We weren¡¯t sure we¡¯d ever see you wake up again¡­¡± A familiar female voice spoke to him from the edge of his bed.


    ¡°Please¡­ Carys. Don¡¯t cry, I can¡¯t stand that.¡±


    ¡°Who say¡¯s I¡¯m crying?¡± The voice close by sobbed.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­ Just need to heal up is all¡­ Has anything happened while I was out? Where are we?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re safe¡­ We were rescued by Elly¡¯s brother¡­ Elly is¡­ Missing. Along with Ferran and Sarvalen. The house has burnt to the ground.¡±


    ¡°That kind of joke isn¡¯t even funny.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s no joke. It¡¯s true¡­ I¡¯m pleased to see you have survived Rein.¡±


    ¡°Sarvalen¡­ I could recognize your voice in a crowd.¡±


    ¡°I bet you could. For now, you need to rest. That wound of yours will take a good while to heal. I¡¯ve sent for a specialist I know. He should be here within a few days. If you can survive that long, he can fix you without too many complications. Probably.¡± He nodded to Rein, then turned to Carys with a much graver expression.


    ¡°I need you to find Indas and Tilia¡­ I need you to go home and gather up any information you can find. Search the site for evidence. But be -very- careful, and don¡¯t stay too long. I need to get you outside of notice until this whole commotion dies down.¡±


    ¡°Understood¡­ Make sure Rein survives¡­ Or I will kill you.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough. Get going.¡±


    ___


    Ma¡¯am. We¡¯ve transferred the documents and the girl¡­ Is there anything else you need?¡±


    ¡°Keep the girl alive. Soon as we get back, she¡¯s to be interrogated, and then hanged.¡±


    ¡°Understood!¡±


    The woman nodded and turned to step into the waiting carriage, closing the door behind her.


    ¡°Is it done?¡± The man in the carriage wasted no time asking her the obvious question.


    ¡°Yes, my lord¡­ My sister has been successfully dealt with¡­¡±


    ¡°A regrettable resolution no doubt, seeing as she is not here with you in chains. I believe this display of loyalty to me and my cause, deserves to be rewarded.¡±


    ¡°! You¡¯ll release my children to me!?¡± The woman¡¯s eyes lit up with joy, but as soon as the words had escaped her, the hope was dashed by a blunt dismissal.


    ¡°No. I will let you have the girl, your first-born will stay with me as, my underling. Do not worry, I will treat him fairly¡­ And he will grow to be a valuable servant. And he, will remember the price of failure.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lord¡­ I am at your disposal¡­¡±


    ¡°Also¡­ Should, by some mysterious ways, your sister or any witnesses turn out to be not dead¡­ I am afraid your children will have their bloodline severed. Recover your sister¡¯s body, and see to it that no loose ends remain¡­ Or indeed your lineage will be a loose end too.¡±