Warm breath on his face and a touch of perfume filled his nostrils as Cris slowly regained consciousness.

He felt comfortable, more so than he had been for a long time. Arms held him tightly and there was a softness in them that reminded him of his mother before he had decided to abandon him and remarry an older noble in the city.

My mother?

Why do I….my head.

My body hurts.

The sweetness of the perfume made his head hazy and his senses dulled. Cris knew that he should be alarmed, to at least try and use his senses to detect if he was in danger from corrupt or who exactly was around him but a sensation filled his airways as he took a deeper breath to taste more of the smell.

His head was resting on someone’s lap. Warm, comfortable and he was safe.

Not safe. Get up.

He wanted to lie there, to forget and keep his eyes closed but the conversation which he heard carrying on made him understand he needed to wake up and accept reality.

Get up. Get up!

He hadn’t lost his memories, only tried to suppress them as much as he could to try and block out the emotional pain and anger within. Better to relax and enjoy the smell of the perfume.

GET UP!

A woman was talking, her voice was familiar, so familiar but also not. Her tone wasn’t soft but firm. Cris lay back and listened.

‘….You ruined it. We had a plan to break in there and give him a chance to fight a little and you ruined it. Worthless foreigners think they can come into our city, our war and decide to get involved without thinking about the consequences? Ma'am, we’ve successfully completed our role. Yes we were late in our appointed action but as you can see Richtson needed additional support before he was able to undertake this mission. He needs to see a priest and a high-quality one at that. I accept responsibility for him losing initial control but we did successfully kill all the corrupted cultists and cleansed the entire site of corpses.’ said Agnes.

A soft voice which came across as smooth to his ears rang out, Cris wasn’t clear on the gender. At first deep like a man but then it switched to a higher pitched tone.

‘You did. I accept the situation as it is but I will not accept blame. Interesting how you left Marley out of the conversation, I believe that I need to have a private word for your augmented group of three in private later. We will discuss your individual parts accordingly. Honoured Ren, Disease Master do either of you have anything to add to how this pre-mission played out? He performed well enough? The fact that he’s not dead means that he didn’t try to attack either of you on suit given your...unique appearance in our beloved city of the Queen and Goddess.’ said the voice of the apparent woman.

The words came from just above his head and Cris realised that he was lying on a sofa. The sweet smell of the perfume still made his thoughts incoherent and hard to focus.

He opened up his eyes as his body ached deeply, he’d overdrawn his magic he knew and he’d face a short period of physical weakness as it body tried to balance itself out. Shifting his attention to the woman who first spoke she wore a delicate outfit of black that enclosed her form along with a dark red stylish hat adorned with gold braid, beads and a single purple feather sticking out.

Her arms were folded on her lap and her hands were gloved and her face shifted when he saw it. First she was a woman of striking beauty in her youth, a few years older than him with pale brown hair, eyes and unblemished skin before her face began to melt and the bone structure altered into an older woman with deep wrinkles and grey hair.

She gave him a smile before she pulled out a silken mask from the recesses of her black outfit and placed it over her face with one hand covering her swiftly changing features before Cris could see what new female face she had transformed into.

Her head cocked to the side, and despite the light silken mask covering her face he could see her mouth arranged into a smile.

‘I was given a gift once by a man beyond our gods. Rather a wish or a favour in his eyes, whether he granted it out of boredom or amusement when I was a young girl. How it was granted was another story but he took pity on a starving girl who was hungry and offered me a bowl of noodles. His name was Horus. I believe that our foreign guests are aware of his legend, but where he walks the world ends. I’m not sure why I’m telling you this Master Cifesboren. Likely, you’ll think I’m a mad woman who suffered trauma due to the death of the Dark Lord and the plague he unleashed in revenge on our once glorious kingdom and you’d be right but this is my advice. If a man called Horus with his friend Casey asks you if you want a bowl of fresh noodles, you say yes. Would you like to try and wake up now from your bad dream? Take your time.’ said the woman.

His eyes shut as quickly as he opened them as his own energy reserves screamed for a balance between his own flesh and divine purity. The face of the woman had literally melted.

There was corruption inside her skin and her face but so bound up with her on a base level that couldn’t understand how her head hadn’t collapsed into dust.

Strength. I need strength.

Without actively pulling on it his own enhanced senses picked up the corruption on the woman called Agnes and drew it in strands of it boosting his own body as he did so.

The other augmented were in the room but further away, likely guarding their current position. Behind him was Ren and Maxton Ge but he had little interest in talking to them until he had better ascertained his position.

Talk from a position of strength.

‘Remarkable. I can barely see it myself but he’s taking it from you Captain Geisslerg and restoring himself. I don’t think that this is usual practice for the religion of Light and Purity is it? I wager they’d call it heresy even. Time to wake up young man, as nice as it is my lap is usually reserved and while I’m grateful you managed to make our appointment we have much to discuss.’ said the voice of the woman.

Sitting straight up Cris immediately grasped his arm for the bracer of knives but he touched bare flesh instead. On his back there was no sensation of his leather backpack and his clothing and boots felt odd on his skin.

Failing to have a weapon he raised both his hands up and shot off the long sofa standing up and taking on a fighting stance. He almost collapsed from the physical effort as a heavy streak of pain tore through him and his legs began to buckle.

‘I don’t know what sick game you want to play with me but I’ll fight if I need to. I want and need answers. Not more questions and trickery. I was lied to, coerced and kidnapped then attacked. Answers would be welcome. So would an exit.’ said Cris.

A chuckle from behind him almost caused him to turn and throw a punch but instead he turned his immediate attention to the cloaked woman in front of him.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Maxton Ge is here. So is Ren. Ignore them.

She hadn’t responded but they had shared a kiss at least. A moment of tenderness. Perhaps she could be convinced to protect him out of this place. He’d paid her in both noble scrip and his own body.

He forced himself to drop his guard and shrug his shoulders instead and put his remaining stamina towards simply standing upright. Giving the appearance of strength and aggression would be the best he could do in this situation.

Another teaching from old man Alessandro.

When faced with enemies, show them you want to fight even if you can’t.

Even if he wanted to fight, his body was in no condition to do so. He’d need a few hours of meditation at least to restore his balance held within.

Cris has seen examples of priests and priestesses who overused on light and purity magic and he had no desire to turn into a mindless, drooling idiot who had to be spoon-fed food and only followed direct instructions.

He’d heard rumours of the so-called Angels that had once been experimented on as orphaned young children but had never seen one in person. Better for him to turn his attention to the one woman who had promised to rescue him.

‘Agnes. Is this how you planned to save me? I’d say I survived after all.’ said Cris as he shrugged his shoulders. The shirt he was wearing was a little tight as he lifted his arms out. His clothes were different. His boots were different and he was clean. The smell of the perfume lingered in the air, he could smell it but it had been reduced and was no longer overpowering both his physical and magical senses.

Drugged. They drugged me.

He recognised his immediate surroundings. The light beaming from the alchemical chandelier, the thick red carpet and the false attempt to replicate a room fit for nobility. He

Cris had been brought down here by Agnes and Richtson before there had been an altercation and he had been knocked out. Only the smell was different and it was beginning to fade from the air now. There was a copper taste to the air.

Looking at the woman in front of him who was now robed once again and clearly armed judging from the bulges in her clothing. The robe she wore had been torn across and there were marks of blood streaked across her face, her eyes were sunken and she looked tired more than anything else.

The look in her eyes told him that she’d seen combat and fought hard. But there an emotion in her eyes as they flickered to her left, after she did it several times in a row he saw that she was trying to pass on a sign.

Her hands were clasped onto her chest although her fingers made a small movement which he didn’t understand but recognised as the same one she had given in the alley to her comrades.

A code then, one they had either been trained or developed to talk silently. Turning his attention to the woman’s left he saw a once familiar sight which had changed.

In truth the rapid pace of his experiences made him consider it was likely not more than a few hours ago he had been been in this location fulfilling his promise to use light and purity magic on their overly corrupted comrade, Richtson.

Cris recognised the double wooden doors which they had passed through which had been guarded and beyond them would be the tunnel beneath the tavern which led to this place.

Both doors had been badly damaged and one hung loose off the hinges but it had been propped up with one of the red velvet covered armchairs from earlier. There were deep gouges in the furniture and parts of broken wood and stone lying around.

The room had earlier held strong traces of purity and light as though reinforced but they had been sufficiently dampened with stronger traces of corruption.

‘Been in a fight have we? Yeah, tricking me and robbing me. You deserve it. Who else is in on this kidnapping game?’ said Cris as he swayed from side to side.

The woman called Agnes tightened her mouth as she pursed her lips. She clearly wanted to talk but nodded her head lightly in response to his words.

Reaching deep within himself there was clear damage. He took a look at the skin on his hands to notice that the outside of his palm had become bleached pure white with minute cracks.

He recalled that he’d wanted to ignite his own life-force and turn himself into a living bomb of purity and light in order to damage the man called Maxton Ge. He’d clearly been out of his mind to try so.

‘Sit down Master Cifesboren. You’ve suffered significant damage and been unconscious for a few hours. Enough to stop you dying but I wouldn’t suggest trying to use your magic for a while unless you want a quick death. Disease Master here was telling me about about you apparently tried to ignite your internal energy. He says your qi flow is damaged. Then again he’s a foreigner from the Celestial Empire here as an important guest of our Queen Averill in her role as the Head of the Church of Light and Purity. Ren is...a special case but also hails from the same place as Maxton Ge. Apparently he acted against direct instruction and was suitably punished in turn through the will of their Emperor. Disease Master, could you please attend to Master Cifesboren? He is owed an apology. Ren, please attend if you are willing.’ said the woman to her left still sitting on the long sofa.

Cris forced himself to keep upright. Although she was being quiet, his eyes were drawn to Agnes as she signed again silently with her fingers and flickered her eyes to the side once more.

The doors. What does she want me to see with the doors? To leave?

‘No. I mean not in this place. Esteemed Ren and Disease Master deserve to see better than this broken shambles. Surely, this dusty room can’t compare to the Celestial Empire in all it’s glory. I need a little support and given that me and Agnes there shared a kiss she can support me if we take a carriage and horse to a...more suitable location to have our discussion. I would like to ask though, what happened to the ones who broke the doors and knocked me unconscious?’ asked Cris.

The red carpet reminded him of the colour of blood and he wondered how many throats had been slit or wounds given in fighting within this room. The sense of corruption in here still lingered and he’d had enough of this situation and simply wanted to return home. He'd rather take a stern lecture from his Head Servant than take more of this.

Considering how he had frequented this low-born part of the capital city and chosen the tavern above their heads on a whim to consider his next options in life and even look for a little adventure he’d certainly gotten his wish.

‘We killed them all. The ones who tried to take you. I never lied to you...Johan. Ma’am, Richtson needs immediate treatment and all threats have been killed. I believe the Queen’s Guard and Priest support can enter here.’ said Agnes she finally opened her mouth to speak and spread her arms at her side.

One of her hands was tapping her side. The same side which she had gestured with and the doors past her.

Laughter came from behind Cris and he recognised the sound as Ren. It was unnerving to hear the construct laugh, it was a fake sound, devoid of emotion as though run through a metal tin and echoed.

The woman sitting on the sofa, adjusted her silk mask before standing up and clenching a gloved hand into a fist.

‘As you wish. We have several carriages waiting at the front. The tavern has been emptied and everyone involved has been detained under my direct authority. Anyone with sufficient levels of corruption who refuses immediate treatment will be sent to Kirkbride Castle, sorry, the Asylum of Light and True Health under the current standing orders of the Queen. Captain Geisslerg you will assemble your team in your own carriage and Richtson will be taken to a temple for a private blessing. Esteemed Ren and Disease Master, your own transport has been set aside as per your request. Cloaks and hats are available upstairs if you wish to disguise your own appearance.’ said the woman. Raising his hand in the red carpeted room which had once been used by novitiate priests who wanted additional funds in return for treating those who wanted their own corruption cleansed.

‘Excuse me, but will the Queens Guard shut down this place? And I never caught your name. I know Agnes, Richtson, even Marley. Ren and Maxton Ge I am familiar with but you never introduced yourself.’ said Cris.

The woman wearing the black outfit smiled under her silk mask.

‘It’s being dealt with and none of your further concern. You may address me as the Woman with No Face until we are in a secure setting. Your mother sends her regards as does Alessandro. He misses you deeply young man. You're luckier than you think to have the trust of a man like him. An Angel will cleanse this place. After you Master Cifesboren. ’ said the women as she made a sweeping gesture towards the smashed large wooden doors which were the only visible exit from the room.