Author’s corner:

First of all thanks for 69^^ (I know I’m a kid at heart) followers and 11 favorites. You guys are great!

Now here is the wednesday chapter.

I will go back on  the promise of 2.5k words a chapter. I just can’t do it… So here are another 3.3k words. I will not say this is average or not. From now on I will make the chapters as long as I see fit. Deal with it :P

I won’t be writing this we so there might be no chapter. Chapter will not be later than wednesday.

But now enough from me. ENJOY!

Point of view of Nathaniel di Contetia:

As I stepped out of the mansion Lethia was already waiting for me with another person standing besides her. This person was a panther-man. “Hunting completed already?”

“Yes, my Lord. It was rather easy. Those orcs are dumber than I had anticipated. I could easily outmaneuver them.” She answered with a slight bow in my direction. “That’s good to hear. And who might be the person besides you? I can’t remember seeing him before.” I said with a questioning look and a raised eyebrow in the direction of the panther-man. “My name is Fuza’ar. I am deeply in debt to your subordinate for rescuing me. May I ask who you are?” He answered me with a deep bow in my direction. “Oh, a well mannered cat. That’s something I don’t see often haha.” I said with a soft chuckle to which I could see his face darken with displeasure. “My name is of no interest for you. But I am the owner of this now tainted mansion.”

“Also there are some humans in a cage near the giant V. I would have killed them with pleasure but then I remembered that they could serve another purpose more efficiently. But that is only if you approve of it.” Lethia gave another bit of information. “That is quite the good idea. I have no objections. We can guide them to their new quarters later. You don’t have deep connections with those humans?” I directed the last question at Fuza’ar. “No. I just stumbled across their path. And if not for an orc attack I would have fought them. They had the audacity to propose the idea of selling me as a slave.” He answered in a calm manner.

“Okay that was more than expected. Let’s go inside. We may be able to find a room that is suitable for a little conversation. I want to learn more about you. And I don’t let a no count as an answer!” I ended our little conversation and turned around to once again enter the mansion. Fuza’ar followed me and Lethia was in the rear, probably making sure he does not attempt to run. After making our way through the entire mansion we finally found a room where the interior was not too much damaged and two chairs and one armchair with red cushions. I took the armchair and let the other two sit on the chairs.

After we settled down I looked at the panther-man with a look that demanded answers. “What brings a cat like you in these regions? Normally you inhabit the Kilin forest outskirts if my informations are up to date. And you have to cross the Central Empire. That’s not an easy journey.” Once again he looked displeased with the way I addressed him.

“I wanted to fight. My race is one of fighters but my opponents were disappointing. I wished for more. But in the Kilin Forest all you can fight are patrols of humans and the honour duels inside the tribe. After a while I grew bored and decided that I needed stronger opponents. That was when I decided that I had to leave the Forest and search for strong opponents. I heard the legends about the fighting strong orcs and their brethren. So I decided to see if they are true. I left the Forest and made my way across the countries and avoided the civilization and eventually I managed to reach the Dark Mountains. There I got really unlucky and crossed path with a group of 34 mercenaries that were most likely hired to inspect the region. The moment they saw me they started their attempts to capture me. I could hear them say that I would be worth a lot of money. But soon after the fight started the orcs attacked. There were a lot of orcs and after a while we were overwhelmed. Only the 21 humans in the cage and I survived the attack. I don’t know why but they had enormous fun beating me up again and again. After a while we reached this valley and they started building the V and hung me up there. Starting to throw stuff at me. The rest is what happened just a few moments ago.”

“You are really one lucky cat. I can offer you what you search for. I have just one tiny condition. You need to pledge your loyalty to me and I can grant you power. And enemies more than you can count.” I looked at him with a smile. “I’m not interested in a cult of devil worshippers. I would like to go now if you don’t mind.” He wanted to stand up but Lethia was now standing behind him, pressing him back against the chair. “Tststs. Not so quick. I have not finished yet. I was on a longer, let’s call it a vacation. And I need some trustworthy subjects that help me establish an organisation that can provide me with anything I might need. There is nothing about devils or demons. Just plain politics and fighting.” I leaned back with the hand folded in front of my chest. “I don’t believe you. You could say anything and then it is too late. I don’t even know your name!” His expression now changed between angry and panicked. “You ungrateful creature! My Lord expressed his wish that you become his! I should have let you on the construction dying of starvation!” Lethia shouted out angrily, her fingers that rested on Fuza’ar’s shoulder grabbing tight, causing his bones to slightly crack and blood could be seen where her fingernails cut into his skin. A painful moan was all that escaped Fuza’ar’s mouth and he glared angrily at me.

“Lethia. That’s enough.” I said to Lethia who hold tight for another few seconds before letting loose. But she still glared at Fuza’ar angrily. “Granted. You don’t know anything about me or my motives but you have to trust me that I don’t worship some evil being. But I am no hero either. And you will be of use for me. One way or another. The choice is up to you.” I looked calmly at him and stated this as facts that were already set in stone and unchangeable. “Do I have a choice?” Was all he pressed between his teeth while glaring at me. “Of course not!” I clapped my hands and stood up. I smiled at him and then with a quick motion I drew the sword and with a precise cut I opened his throat. “Now die for me.” I looked at his surprised face while he began to gurgling blood, all the while smiling. I motioned Lethia to step back and kicked him on the chest, causing the chair to fall back. He was now lying on the floor, trying to stop the bloodflow from his throat. After a while his movements started to slow down and finally stopped. A short while after the blood stopped flowing.

“He smells delicious!” Lethia looked at me with sparkling eyes. “You don’t eat from the floor in this house. Have some decency. I have a hidden cellar with a lot of preserved bottles of exquisite blood. If they are still there we will drink some later. But now there are more pressing matters to attend.” I took the sword and cleaned it with a cloth that was lying around in this room. After that I cut into my wrist, allowing my blood to flow. I then forced my wrist into his mouth. It took me a while to get the blood into his stomach but finally I was successful.

The moment the transformation began I motioned Lethia to follow me. I didn’t need to see this. After a few times it got boring. Let’s see what we can do with those humans. At first let’s go to the building where the slaves were in the earlier days. There should be enough collars for all of them. Then they can start cleaning up this mess. And maybe we can transform one or two later on.” With this we left the mansion and went to the building to the right. Through the stable in the front and the stairs down in the cellar in the part of the building where the servants used to live. The door to the cellar was broken open and we could easily enter. Behind the door was one big room that was as big as the entire layout of the building. It was filled to the brim with  big cells on all sides. There was enough room to contain around 100 slaves in there. Near the door was a chest that was opened but the collars that should be  inside were still there. They were simple black leather collars with a red stone in the front.

The collars suppressed  the wearer's mind and made him a mindless slave that can follow commands but has no will of its own. As such they could not be used to do complicated tasks but it was sufficient for cleaning. I took a rope and slid 21 collars on it. After that I knotted the rope and gave it to Lethia. “Now we can go to the humans.”

On our way to the humans in the cage Lethia asked “Why did you cut his throat? Can’t you just feed him some blood?” I looked at her and said “I could have but the rate at which this is successful is much lower than when the blood is first removed to a great amount. You see the mana that is present in the blood of any living being and forms their aura, changes when someone gets transformed. This means you have another aura than before. The greater the change the harder it is to succeed. For the lower ranks like lesser and normal it is not so important. The changes are not that big. But if you go higher the changes are greater and so is the resistance of your aura. This resistance can cause the transformation to go wrong and you could go insane in the progress. Why this is, I’m not entirely sure yet but I’m looking into this in my research. Is that an answer to your question?”

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“Yes, my Lord.” She answered me.

We walked over the bridge that crossed the little river and made our way to the cage that housed the humans. The moment they saw us I could see hope light up their eyes. Too bad that I didn’t come here to release them. Ever. “Please let us go. We just want to leave this place.” One of the men pleaded to me. “I believe you.” I said and smiled at the man. I could see that they believed I would free them and joy could be seen on their faces. “But I don’t plan to release you.” And there it went. Now there was only despair on their faces. “You can’t do that. Do you know who I am!” One man screamed at me. “No. I don’t know and I couldn’t care less.” Was my answer. To this the man only opened and closed his mouth repeatedly like a fish and went red in anger. “I don’t think you understand the situation you are in. Nobody knows you are in this valley. I could kill you right here and now. But I need someone to clean my mansion. It is slightly dirty you see and you seem like capable man so I wanted to ask if you could help me.” I smiled nicely at them.

“O-Of cou-course we would like…” One man began to agree to my proposal but was cut short by the arrogant man from before. “No. I, Amiel of Mentshire, brother of the duke of Mentshire, will never lower me in the rank of a lowly servant!”

“I see. Your men are ready to help me. That is really nice of them. And I think I have another little task that suits you rather well. If you would have the goodwill to follow me after I release you from this cage, your highness.” I said with a mocking undertone, that he didn’t seem to get, in my voice and a slight bow in his direction. “You finally acknowledged my social standing? That is a smart move peasant! Out of pure goodwill I will forget about the former affront. Now open the door!” He spoke in a commanding manner. “Lethia. Would you be so kind to open the door for our esteemed guest?”

She looked at me with a knowing smile and took a step towards the door and placed her hands on two bars. “Don’t you need a key?” One man meekly asked before becoming wide eyed the moment Lethia broke open an opening that was wide enough for one person. I bowed in the direction of the arrogant man and made an inviting gesture to sign him to step outside. “You would not mind if I equip those man with these collars here? They are only a security measure. You surely wouldn’t let strangers roam your mansion to clean it, would you?” I asked him nicely. “Of course not. I totally understand your situation!” Amiel answered while standing next to me.

“As you may know, my companion here is rather adept in handling her bow. So if you would be so kind to step out of the cage and equip those collars I would be really happy.” I smiled in the general direction of the cage. But it seems that they were not as pleased as I was in this moment. I could only guess why but they followed my demand obediently and put on the collar. After that I made a little cut in my thumb and smeared my blood on the red stone in the front of the collar. Amiel looked really interested in what I was doing. “Speak. What are those collars? I have never seen anything like that before. Normal collars are sealed with a short magic ritual.”

“I found these long ago in a ruin. They are quicker to place on someone but the big contra is that they are not as responsive as before and can only be used in simple tasks. But for cleaning it is more than enough.” I answered his question.

“You obey every command given by Lethia as if it was my command!” I spoke to the men which only nodded with empty eyes. “Sir Amiel, would you be so kind to follow me into the mansion. There we will wait for an important guest to arrive that may be an important asset in the future. But excuse me for not serving anything except for water. It happened that there is a shortage of servants at the moment and a little incident happened that dirtied my home. But there are still suitable places to sit for one important person like you.” I inwardly laughed to myself. Fooling arrogant nobles was something that made my day since there were nobles. They are so full of themselves that they don’t even realise when they were played with.

“Lethia, make them clean the valley. The corpses and the dirt and everything can be thrown into the river. There is a grid where the river goes into the mountains. This can be opened from this side. But be cautious, there are giant titanspiders in the cave system behind the grid. And send on of the men in the room next to the special room. He shall bring water and two pots to drink from.”

“Yes, my Lord”

“Shall we?” I asked Amiel and we began walking towards the mansion. “My other guest will be here in about three hours. If you help him with a little task you might be able to get one bigger in return. So if you have the time to spare…”

“This sounds interesting. Lead the way.” Amiel gave his approval and we made our way to the room next to the room where Fuza’ar was ‘sleeping’.

The next three hours were filled with his rants about the common people and how they destroy the kingdom Wegril and how the nobles are the only ones interested in the surviving of the kingdom. I just smiled at him and nodded approvingly. The moment I heard a sound coming from the neighboring room I interrupted him. “It seems like my guest has arrived. Please follow me to the meeting room.” I stood up and opened the door for him. After reaching the door a few steps down the corridor I opened it and he took a step inside. I stepped behind him and gave him a soft push, which let him stumble further into the room, and closed the door behind him.

“Hmm? You don’t like my surprise? Now I’m disappointed. I endured your boring rants all the time and now look at you. Haha. But I didn’t lie. If you can survive this you can get a big favor from me and him. So do your best!” I said to Amiel who stared in shock at the being that stood in front of him. Fuza’ar was now a being that would best be described as a were-panther. He was roughly 2 m tall. His entire body was covered in thick plach and shiny fur. His cat like eyes were now red, in contrast to the former yellow. His former implied snout was now fully there. His hands were now more like paws and his legs reminded the observer of a panther. His tail was swaying from left to right and he was ready to pounce at any moment but just stared intently at me and Amiel.

“Don’t be so shy you two. Ah. I apologize I didn’t introduce you two. This beautiful guy right here is Fuza’ar. You may know him. He is the guy you wanted to sell as a slave. And this arrogant idiot that stands in front of me is Amiel. Some noble bumpkin. Now that I introduce you two, have fun.” I smiled at Amiel and Fuza’ar, who understood that I didn’t have any intention towards the human and began growling at him and began circling him. I moved away from Amiel who looked at me with shock and disbelieve. “Ohhhhh. Didn’t your mommy tell you not to go with strangers who promise you sweets? Haha.”

“Why? WHY?!” He screamed at me. “You know. I needed someone to feed him some blood. I originally wanted to pick one of you guys at random but this seemed more fun. And now I can say. It is way more fun.” At this moment the were-panther jumped at Amiel and pawed at his arm, throwing him around, screaming in pain. Holding his broken arm he looked in panic towards the were-panther and tried to back away from him in panic.

“I thought you would put up more of a fight. You disappoint me. Really. You are here to investigate orc incidents and can’t even fight back a little.” I spoke while Fuza’ar clawed over his face with both his hands, leaving a bloody mess that no one would recognize as a human face anymore. More screams and sobs could be heard and a faint odour of urine could be smelled. It seems like Lord High-and-Mighty pissed himself. This caused me to giggle a little while Fuza’ar dug into the stomach of Amiel, ripping out the intestines one after another and gulping down the crimson fluid that was streaming down all over Amiels body. After a few seconds the cries of agony stopped and Amiel was dead. The door opened and Lethia came into the roo. “I heard he was eating the little snack you prepared and wanted to see what happens next. Also the corpses are taken care of and the humans began to clean the mansion.” I smiled and nodded “That’s good. Now let’s see what his attitude is. But it should not be too bad. Thanks to the blood bond haha. This was really the best thing we added to our blood!”

The eyes of Fuza’ar focused on me and he opened his mouth.