Merissa Redwave leaned back in the beautifully carved office chair. The tiny twenty two year old couldn’t have looked more out of place in the richly decorated study. She looked more like a child playing office than a prominent underworld boss. Her dark straight hair was pulled into a ponytail, and her huge brown eyes were soft and gentle like a fawn’s. Her desk was covered in scattered papers, all messages from underlings and peers. They carried the same message for the most part.
A living legend of a Monster Hunter was in town, and she was actively hunting The Little Hand. As the most exposed of all the fingers, she would most likely be the first target. None of it was news to her, she had gathered Agitha’s identity from the first day. She hadn’t been at all surprised to learn that the stab and grab operation sent by Index had failed. Reports from her scores of child spies placed Agitha at Kel’s Place, a reputable inn on the north side of the Merchant Belt.
She swept all the parchment into the trash bin next to the desk and stood up. The two massive minotaur guards on loan from Thumb stood at attention, their horns only an inch or so from scraping the ceiling.
“I’m going out for a drink.” Merissa announced as she donned a floral printed red and gold cloak and left her office, guards in tow.
She exited the plain looking building, and made her way north. She noticed her many children, mostly orphans from the monster war nine years ago watching her protectively. The two plate armored monstrosities flanking her ensured that she was given a wide berth as she strolled through the crowded evening Merchant Belt.
It took ten minutes to reach Kel’s Place, the sounds from inside were lively and jovial. Indistinct conversation and laughter filtered out to the street where the trio stood.
“Stay.” She told the two bestial guards. They stopped mechanically and stood motionless like deactivated golems. Merissa then straightened her immaculate clothes and entered Kel’s Place.
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A light knock on the door caused Agitha to crack an eye.
“Bait! Door.” She groaned covering her head with a pillow.
Zell opened the door to find one of Kel’s twin daughters standing shyly a step back in the hall.
“Rin?” Zell decided to take the fifty-fifty guess.
“There’s someone here for Miss Agitha. Someone named Pinky.” The girl spoke in a shy voice.
Agitha sat up groggily, rubbing her eyes with her palms.
“Is she alone?” Agitha asked as she belted on her swords.
“Two monsters, like ogres with a bull’s head came with her but are waiting outside.” The tall girl answered from beneath her long wheat colored bangs. “I didn’t see anyone else.”
“Okay. Guess I’ll go say hi then.” Agitha stood up and stretched.
“What should I do?” Zell asked after her. “Isn’t this person dangerous?”
“She probably is very dangerous. Here isn’t where she’ll make her move though. Go back to bed or get some exercise if you aren’t tired. Be back soon, and quit letting Kel feed Merc bones. The room is full of wolf farts.” Agitha grumbled as she passed the girl in the hallway.
“I’m Nin.” The girl said once they were alone in the hall. Her voice was clear and high toned like a singing blackbird. “I have a scar on my chin. See?” The girl named Nin tilted her head back just slightly and Zell caught a good look at her face.
Luminous blue eyes, high cheek bones, and a button nose were somewhat contrasted by the girl’s strong clearly defined jawline. There was indeed a jagged pink scar on her not so delicate chin.
“Forgive me Nin, I’ll pay closer attention.” Zell bowed and gave a friendly wave. As she turned away. He closed the door and turned to face Merc, who was now sprawled across his entire bed.
“Huh. Nin’s really pretty isn’t she? Did you see that? Not one stutter!” Zell had started striking up regular one sided conversations with Merc recently. “Wonder what a crime boss like the Pinky is like. Must be really scary.”
Merissa Redwave felt Agitha’s presence long before the green armor clad elf entered. A feeling of pressure, like being under deep water crashed into the dining room and grew more intense by the second. Merissa was one of the few in the world that could detect the mana of others, a rare gift which she had refined over her lifetime. It was extremely useful in spotting undeveloped talents in her children, and in identifying dangerous enemies.
She began to sweat. Darkness creeped on the edges of her vision. A nauseous sensation like motion sickness assaulted her in waves. A foaming mug somehow appeared on the table in front of her, held by a green gauntleted hand.
“You okay there?” A distant, rough edged voice called to her. “You’re Merissa right? AKA the Pinky of the Little Hand?” Hearing her own name brought her somewhat back to herself.
“It’s your mana. It’s too much.” Merissa managed to say, grimacing.
“Ohh. Okay here, is that better?” Agitha asked as she took the seat opposite the pale, shuddering woman.
The aura calmed to a tolerable level. The fact that she had that level of control of it was nearly as threatening as the power itself and Merissa gulped hard as Agitha continued to speak.
“Sorry it’s been almost ten years since I’ve met anyone sensitive to mana. Although that does save some time in introductions. Don’t suppose you came to avenge those sloppy cutthroats?” Agitha asked with a raised eyebrow, lifting her mug to take a long drink.
“No, that would be a short and disappointing battle for both of us. I’m here because I heard that a real living level four hunter was looking for Fingers. I didn’t want any of my children to get in your way so here I am, before they can. If you’re going to kill me I only beg that you show them mercy.” Merissa stood shakily and dropped to her knees in front of Agitha, with her forehead nearly touching the floor.
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“Knock it off, I don’t kill kids.” Agitha scolded. “What the hell, anyways? Aren’t you supposed to be some kinda hard ass, big shot bitch type?” Agitha held her empty mug over her own head as she spoke, which was deftly replaced with a full mug by Nin a moment later. “What’s with the nice little girl act?”
“You’ll hear me out?” Merissa was visibly heartened, and retook her seat and began to explain her situation slowly at first but building speed with every word.
“I have my position because the children of the streets are loyal to me alone. Until seven years ago I was an orphan myself. With my mana detection and other skills I became their leader. ‘The Rat Princess’ was my title then. I wasn’t perfect but everyone that joined my family had some food to eat and someone to watch their back. As we became more organized, we drew the wrong kind of attention from a certain woman. The former Pinky was ruthless. She ran a crooked orphanage and the children she kept weren’t just trained to pick pockets. They were trained to kill. There was a war, an absolutely grotesque war known now as The Urchin War. She sent her children to kill my children.” Merissa’s eyes misted over as she remembered. She steadied herself with a drink from her own mug and continued.
“Many died. I used my power to kill my predecessor. Hers was the only life I took that day. Many of her children were grateful to be free of her, and joined us. That’s when I was approached by Thumb’s agents. He promised to allow the children to live in peace under me as long as we brought in as much money as the old Pinky.” Merissa lifted her gaze to study Agitha’s reaction.
Agitha had her elbow on the table and her pointed chin resting in her thick palm. She was clearly struggling to reorient her view of the situation. She leveled her piercing stare with Merissa’s doe eyes.
“What happens if you stay out of it?” Agitha asked. “The Little Hand and likely a pretty big chunk of this kingdom’s government isn’t going to survive the winter with me here.” She added.
“If I refuse to pay, or refuse to give any more information, then children will start disappearing.” Merissa replied honestly.
“Can you go into hiding? While dealing with me they won’t have much time to devote to finding you.” Agitha offered.
“We could, and I will send the youngest ones away immediately. We have a plan in place for fleeing the city. As for the older kids and myself, we refuse to leave.” Merissa was firm, her eyes locked onto Agitha’s.
“Oh? Loyalty to the Little Hand?” Agitha mused.
“No. The opposite.We will help you. We hate the Little Hand. Any child that reaches maturity is drafted by one of the other fingers. Index takes any that can fight, Middle takes any talented in magic, Ring takes the leftover girls and boys to work in his brothels. Thumb oversees the relationships between us, as well as with the guilds and kingdom.” Merissa took a drink and continued.
“Index handles the dirty and violent stuff. Anytime a bought merchant, urchin, sex worker, tavern keeper, or anyone else in The Hand’s pocket spots a viable target they report to the doorman at The Fat Mermaid. Orders are encoded and distributed by the bartender. Ordering a specific drink tells him your finger affiliation, and the price he gives you is actually a coordinate within the city. Instructions are left at these coordinates in the form of a Mana Mouth spell connected to the Middle Finger command center. Careless travelers with more coin than common sense are the main targets for the stab and grabs. Most of the guards are bought so if the corpse is marked for disposal by the hand, it disappears. In the rare event of an investigation, Thumb keeps it buried in bureaucratic process.”
Agitha took a long moment to absorb the information and its source. This could accelerate her plans drastically. The girl didn’t seem to be lying, and having her turn against the rest of the fingers changed the entire situation. Rather than picking them apart over several months, they could stage a surprise attack that decapitated the organization all at once. She was quickly forming a plan.
“Very well. I accept your help. First, are the minotaur guards yours?” Agitha asked.
“Thumb insisted I keep them near me at all times. It isn’t for my sake. I’m sure he suspects my feelings of resentment, they are a reminder to stay in line.” Merissa replied.
“After you leave here, I’m going to ambush you. I’m going to kill one of the guards, injure you, and allow you to barely escape. This will dispel suspicion and cause them to call a meeting of all the fingers. Have a child you trust deliver the details of that meeting’s location to me. Hopefully the blow I strike then will shatter the Hand completely, or at the very least cripple it for some time.” Agitha spoke in a volume that only Merissa could hear.
Merissa sat wide eyed. She had prepared herself for months or maybe years of planning and scheming before daring to make a move. Just what was this psychotic elf saying?
“Wait! I know that you’re very strong but...” Merissa stammered.
“No, you don’t know that I’m strong. Rather I should say you have a very sheltered idea of what strength is.” Agitha interrupted evenly. “Come with me. This will only take a moment.” She stood up and walked toward the stairs.
Merissa followed, confusion and trepidation clear on her face. Agitha led her to a storage room tucked behind the stairs. The dim room was lit by a single tiny window, stacks of folded linens and other odds and ends lined the shelves to either side.
“Close the door.” Agitha bade Merissa.
Merissa did as instructed and turned toward Agitha. She was immediately overcome with the monstrous, crushing aura from earlier.
“This is what you believe.” Agitha’s voice sounded softly.
Merissa struggled to stay focused. She watched through blurred vision as Agitha reached for the clasps that held her armor in place. The moment the clasps were undone, the mana intensified and Merissa's vision dimmed. After the heavy dragonscale chest piece was placed on the floor, Agitha also removed the undershirt. She was now naked to the waist with no change to her expression. She slowly raised her hand in front of her and began tracing a pattern with her index finger. Greenish light trailed her finger, leaving a rune glowing in the air. She swiped her hand through the rune, shattering it.
“This is what really is.” Agitha said as a dark purple aura erupted from her body as though a dam had burst.
Merissa dropped to her hands and knees and could not rise. She nearly vomited as tears streamed down her cheeks. It was like leaping into a lake of fire. Every nerve in her body screamed in pain. This was not possible. Mana this deep and suffocating could not exist in the world she knew. She was going to die, she believed. Surely this much pain was fatal. Mercifully, it faded quickly as Agitha restored the seal and donned her armor. The brown haired girl collapsed fully onto the floor, sweating and shaking.
“This soft city, this kingdom you know...” Agitha began. “It is a tiny island in an ocean of enemies, some as strong as I am. Every inch of this island was bought with the blood of my precious comrades. It is a place for the weary to rest and the weak to have sanctuary. The Little Hand, the guilds, and the council are spitting on the names of those that faced hell to win this blessed dirt handful by bloody handful. Compared to what we’ve done, crushing these scheming bugs is a chore no more significant than wiping my ass.”
Agitha snapped her chest armor back in place as she finished speaking. She reached down and with surprising gentleness lifted Merissa to her feet to face her squarely.
“You are a victim of these so called people. You are also in the position to save many lives. My mission will be a success regardless of any outside influences, but you can help me a great deal in minimizing collateral damage.” Agitha spoke to her earnestly.
“They won’t meet in person. They never do. Middle’s power allows thought communication over great distance. None of us have ever even seen Thumb. He coordinates everything through layers of underlings and aliases.” Merissa explained when she finally regained her voice.
Agitha tilted her head back slightly, clearly calculating.
“Can you trace a Mana Mouth to its source?” She asked Merissa after a moment.
Merissa nodded. “I can, but only for a few minutes. If they are too far away then I would lose them.” She could guess the nature of Agitha’s next question.
“Little hand uses a communication network to stay compartmentalized. We can cripple the communication network if we eliminate Middle. Middle sends orders from their base with Magic Mouth. You can track Magic Mouth. I can destroy Middle and his base. It’s not as ideal as wiping out a Little Hand meeting but it’s still a good start. How soon can you get the kids out of the city?” Agitha’s overly straightforward and simplified plan left Merissa dumbstruck.
“I’ll need at least three days. This is so sudden. How do you plan to destroy the base? What do you plan to do with Middle, a magic user reportedly stronger than anyone else in the whole kingdom?” Merissa couldn’t contain the questions before they blurted out.
“I’m going to slash down the door, break anything that looks important, and kill whoever gets in the way. Middle will probably flee with teleportation magic but if he stays I’ll kill him too.” Agitha replied as though it were obvious. “Either way that should throw the hand into chaos and cause some other targets to pop up.”
She’s absolutely mad. Merissa concluded mentally. if it weren’t for the display of power earlier she would have dismissed this entire meeting and gone home. Though truly monstrous, the power she had displayed surely could only last for a few moments and must require extensive rest before it could be used again.
“How long does that enhancement spell last?” She finally mustered up the nerve to ask as they were about to exit the room.
“Enhancement spell? Oh that.” Agitha rubbed the back of her head. “That just pauses the seal enchantment my friend put on me. My normal state isn’t really suitable for everyday life. I have to focus really hard not to rip doors from their hinges. Stuff like handshakes and eating are much too delicate as well. But with Coralia’s seal and my armor I don’t have to worry as much. Together they suppress about ninety eight percent of my mana and physical strength.” Agitha finished talking and held the door open for Merissa who was now slack jawed and misty eyed.
“Now, as we discussed earlier I’m going to trail you and ambush you. The minotaur to your right will die, I’ll then graze you with my sword. Don’t worry the cut will bleed enough to look real but won’t scar. The other minotaur will be injured and left unconscious. This should draw any suspicion away from you. Meet me under the dock nearest the Fat Mermaid after sundown three days from now.” Agitha’s tone left no real room for debate so Merissa just nodded and swallowed as she made for the door.