I make my way down the dungeon at double pace and back to Leomi. I start dismantling the golden air-shield only to have my link to it overtaken and the construct vanishes. I find her sitting down with crossed legs, looking upset, likely with me. She already cleaned the gash in her temple.
“You didn't wait for me.” Leomi comments calmly without moving to gaze at me.
“There was no need.” I reply calmly.
“...” She raises her chin. “I wouldn't have spared them.” She finally says, reading my mind.
“You would have spoken, they might have surrendered.” I reply calmly.
“... They hurt me, I understand.” She nods firmly. I hold my hand out to her.
“You've blood all over you, my jay.” Leomi tells me with a gentle voice.
I check my wrist, finding that she's right. Probably blood spatter from hacking the last one's head off. She still takes my hand and lets me help her stand up, although she doesn't look very happy with me. I think quickly about why that could be.
“I didn't see the rock.” I tell her. “But I would have struck the arrow even if I did.” Her lips stir and then settle, a clear indication she suppressed a smile.
“There were two, a big one aimed at you and a fast small one that knocked me out.” Leomi explains.
“How did you notice them?” I ask.
“Well, I missed the smaller one.” She says, looking annoyed at herself. “The other one was large enough to cast a shadow.” She turns towards the large blaze. “Who were they?” She asks me.
“Criminals.” I reply with a shrug.
“I very much doubt that.” Leomi shakes her head, pointing at the head burning on the pile.
“That was me.” I tell her.
“Oh.” She throws me a surprised glance. “Look closer then.”
I join her side and inspect the pyre. There are at least two bodies buried in the firewood and a slight roasted pig smell. So they ambushed more people than us? That makes their deaths even more justified, not that it was needed.
“What kind of bandit attempts murder straight away?” Leomi asks rhetorically. “Or takes residence in a Noble's home that is unlikely to remain empty for long?”
“Hm.” I ponder. “The worst kind?” I question.
“None that I know of.” Leomi denies.
“So who were they?” I ask, growing impatient at this game of riddles.
“I don't know, yet.” She tells me. “You should clean up before the blood dries. I'll take a look around.”
I nod and make my way to her warhorse, which is peacefully grazing a distance away from the dungeon. I grab a flask of water and clean my hand before splashing some on my clothes.
The dark stains on my shirt and pants turn gray but I'm pretty sure the red merely turned pink. There isn't much I can do about that right now. You okay? I giggle, finding this incredibly silly.
Not only do you not need to ask, but you're aware that I'm aware that the very question is a trick because no matter what the answer is, the point is to get me to communicate which will make me feel better.
You laughed and answered in a tortuous way, I would say it worked. We let her get hurt because we were too slow. Half of us wasn't paying attention. I wasn't blaming you. I am. Let's go back and find out what she's doing.
I return to the dungeon. Leomi is kneeling next to the woman she killed on the ground floor. She cut her hard leather armor off and is going through her belongings now. The sword with a rusted guard has a perfect blade, which is definitely odd.
“The bow is decent, arrows straight.” Leomi speaks up. “Sword is the same, the rust was definitely left on purpose.”
“Armor?” I ask.
“It's the same.” She replies. “If I had to bet, I would say that this woman was a soldier at the very least.”
“I don't recognize any of the three, but I haven't met every soldier under Buton.” I tell her, following her line of thought.
“I think one or all three were relatives of Buton.” Leomi tells me.
“So I was right, bandits.” I reply, chuckling. “Who do you think they killed?” I ask, turning serious.
“Who's around here to kill?” She returns the question.
“Maybe servants who returned but there's a small fishing village close-by.” I tell her in a somber voice.
“Is that what made Liz so angry?” Leomi asks gently, rising up.
“That was me.” I calmly inform her.
“You?” She blinks.
“The tower is still standing, obviously not her work.” I say with a hint of humor, departing to make my way upstairs. “And it was because you got hurt.” I throw over my shoulder.
Leomi stands where she is as I climb the steps to the top. I hear her follow as I reach the third floor. Once I step on the roof, I realize that perhaps the one who hurt my love isn't the same one who spoke to me since there were two stones thrown.
I pull my hunting knife again and kneel down next to the other one's body. I find a pouch at his belt with a sling and flat rocks inside. I nod and start hacking at the neck, caring none for the blood splatter.
“Jessica?” Leomi calls out worriedly.
“It shocked me too. Fear the quiet one's anger.” Liz speaks up in response.
I ignore them and seize the head to throw it in the pyre below. I take deep breaths and slowly exhale until my heartbeat quiets down. Leomi stands there, watching. I walk over and give her a hug.
“I'm okay.” Leomi whispers.
“I am too, now.” I reply.
I get on the tip of my toes to kiss the cut and pricks on her temple before letting go. I feel my exhaustion through a weakness in the back of my knees so I sit down while she searches the decapitated bodies.
“Those two aren't peasants or simple soldiers, there are no crests or anything to identify them but their swords are made of quality steel and worth quite a bit of silver so they are likely to be sons of minor Nobles.” Leomi tells me.
“You're telling me there's something here.” I comment.
“I would wager they were looking for a casket of gold.” She nods.
“How did you come to that conclusion?” I blink.
“It isn't unusual for Nobles to hide coin from the tax collector, or hide their treasury in times of trouble for their descendants.” Leomi explains. “It isn't always wise to travel with your valuables, even for Nobles.”
“Why would they act like bandits if it belongs to them?” I ask.
“Several possibilities. They might not be part of Buton's house or be distant relatives, or even family friends. They could also have killed the heir on the way here, which would make them either bandits or escort soldiers.” Leomi pauses. “How did they speak?”
“Hm.” I think back. “They didn't sound like any bandits I met, or even mercenaries. That one didn't even swear when I stabbed his hand and the other one's words weren't crude.” I tell her.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“From a high born background at the very least.” She nods. “Whether the heir to the Barony is among them or not makes little difference, the claim to the title would be refused so the money is all that's left to inherit.” Leomi stands up. “These people were likely on a mission for an opposing faction, the coin to be used as funds to foment dissent.”
“I think so as well.” I acquiesce. “They could have changed into soldiers as easily as they did into bandits simply by cleaning up.”
She gathers their swords and coin pouches before throwing the bodies off the tower. Leomi then sits down in front of me, apparently waiting on me. I look down at my bloody hand and stare, expecting a shiver that never comes.
After a while, I get back up and make my way downstairs to wash my hands. Leomi follows me to the ground floor but stops at the woman's body to drag it outside.
She drags the three bodies to the pyre and throws them into the flames while I wash my hand, again. I'm aware of my erratic behavior, during and after the fight. I've been going back and forth because I don't think further than the immediate present.
It isn't the first time it has happened to be in a combat situation, I think it's because slaughter still unsettles me. We'll have to get over that to improve. You do that, it would weaken me. Okay.
“I'm going to take a look inside, come with?” Leomi asks me as she approaches her horse.
I nod and fasten the flask back on the horse. She does the same with the swords and the coin she looted. We make our way back to the ground floor where Leomi shows me a hatch to the basement.
She throws a fire construct down first and kneels down to throw a look before we go down. There is a strong smell of vinegar in the air and debris from large casks. This used to be a wine cellar.
The paved floor has been upturned and the dirt underneath dug up. I find three shovels against a wall and sacks of luggage. They were clearly searching for something.
“Not much to see here.” I note.
“On the contrary, it tells me a lot.” Leomi says, walking over to the luggage.
She riffles through the sacks but there are only clothes along with essential supplies like a sharpening stone and sewing needles, which I both pocket. I gather the least used clothes but there isn't anything of real value.
“Not a single indication of who they were.” I comment.
“They were on the first floor even though they didn't find anything here.” Leomi speaks up. “It's likely that they had only a vague clue but they were certain that what they sought is in the dungeon or they wouldn't have killed to hide their presence here in the short to mid term.”
“Agreed.” I say.
I grab the sack of clothes and bring it back to the horse while Leomi heads to the first floor. We scour the tower from top to bottom but find not a single clue, which isn't surprising or it would have been found already.
“Is it worth spending this much time on this? You can just report the incident to start a search.” I tell Leomi on the fifth floor.
“I'm curious, the Rykz occupied the area so this could have something to do with them as well.” She replies calmly.
“They wouldn't have left anything for anyone to find.” I argue.
“I'm of the same opinion but it isn't a certainty. Mistakes can be made and accidents happen.” Leomi counters. “Not to mention that many gamble on the fact that their enemies won't be meticulous and miss clues.”
“Good point.” I nod, impressed. “How about we use a scanning construct?” I ask.
“On a stone building as big as this? We would need a hundred units per floor at the very least, I'm not very skilled in it.” Leomi shakes her head.
“Then, let's think like Buton since he's our most likely opponent.” I propose, sitting down on a chunk of wood from the ruined bed-frame.
“Go on.” Leomi encourages.
“He's selfish so he likely didn't tell anyone about where he hid what he left here and wouldn't have risked hiding anything on the lower or highest floor.” I say.
“The roof has a beacon that soldiers would monitor and the lowest floors would welcome guests.” Leomi nods.
“So, fourth or fifth floor.” I conclude.
“Fourth seemed to be some kind of office, fifth are living quarters for his family.” She says, laying her index on her lips. “I would bet on the fourth.”
“Fifth.” I counter. “You're dutiful so, if you had a treasure, then you wouldn't give a vague clue. Buton seemed to only have trusted himself but made preparations for the worst.”
“It's possible that they only had a vague idea because they obtained the clue through nefarious means.” Leomi notes.
“You would hide your treasure in a place of importance for your house, like a library or an office, right?” I ask.
“Yes.” She nods.
“Buton wouldn't do that. He would keep it in a place that belongs solely to him and not his house so that no one can stumble upon it, it also allowed him to keep an eye on it.” I explain.
“That makes sense.” Leomi acknowledges. “Would he put it under the floorboards?”
“They're wood, so I doubt it.” I shake my head. “If the treasure was there, he would have moved it when warned of the Rykz' approach in case the dungeon was set on fire.”
“So it's probably here, inside these walls.” She nods. “Give me a few minutes.”
Leomi takes out about a hundred portions and spreads it out around her, creating a flat golden disk a meter wide with a sphere in the center. After a couple of minutes, she activates it.
The construct flies to the center of the room and lands on the floor. The disk then expands to encompass the dungeon's entire circumference and starts rising. It pauses when it reaches her chest height, and the top of my head.
“There.” Leomi points to the corner made by the staircase.
She dismantles the scanning construct, recuperating about sixty portions. I draw my hunting knife and start tapping the staircase's wall where she pointed with the pommel, listening for a hollow sound that would indicate the presence of a mechanism.
“Let me.” Leomi says, tapping my shoulder.
I step back, noticing that her sword is glowing golden. She plunges it into the wall between two blocks. She cuts the mortar around the left one, slicing through quite a bit of stone as well.
Once she's done, she plunged the blade into the center of the stone and deactivates the armor-piercing construct. She angles the blade down a bit and starts pulling, dragging the block out of the wall.
Crack. The stone drops and breaks quite a few floorboards. I throw a glance inside the new gap in the staircase's wall, finding an empty space with a small casket. I step aside to let Leomi pull it out, the advantage of having two hands.
She places it on the floor and uses a small scanning construct to, no doubt, check for traps. She then forces the lock open, revealing a pile of coins. At first glance, there are at least two hundred silver coins and a dozen gold ones on top.
“That's a lot of money.” I say with a whistle.
“You want it?” Leomi asks with a cheeky smile.
“That belongs to the Izla doesn't it?” I question back.
“It's likely he cheated on his taxes but we don't know for sure. If we confirmed it, then it would go to Duke Meria's house and then they would be responsible for splitting the coin between them, Izla Meria, and the Empire.” She explains. “This could just as well be a treasure his house accumulated through the years.”
“Why his house?” I ask, confused.
“Because, according to Kingdom law, that house still hold the demesne of Izla Meria until another Noble house succeeds the title.” Leomi explains. “In truth, neither house Buton nor house Meria can inherit the titles they held, not to mention they fled the Izla before it was lost, so this coin doesn't belong to anyone.”
“That can't be right.” I frown.
“Well, the Izla's situation wouldn't normally happen.” She chuckles. “Another house should have taken regency instead of the Council and they would have temporary claim over the coin. In reality, whoever finds such a cache of coins would just keep it if no one else knows.”
“Let's just send it to the Council then.” I shrug.
“You do realize this is negligible, right?” Leomi asks.
“Don't lie to me.” I glare at her.
“Fine, it's not negligible to the Izla but it isn't really much coin either.” She sighs. “We're splitting it.” As I open my mouth to argue, she snags a silver coin and pockets it. “The rest is yours, as long as you spend it then you didn't hurt anyone.”
“Are you trying to make us partners in crime?” I ask, amused.
“It's the only way I can think of to get you to agree, short of trying more physical means.” She replies.
“Hm.” I ponder. “Fine, I'll spend this on a project of mine.” It'll benefit the Izla anyway, peasants as well, not merchants or any other bourgeois.
“Good.” She nods. “What project?”
“Not telling.” I smile.
I slam the casket close. I slide my hand under it and lift it up along my right side to stick it under my arm. We make our way downstairs and back to the warhorse. Leomi helps me stash the coin in a cloth sack that used to contain potatoes.
“Let's camp here, it's late and we have blankets.” Leomi suggests.
“Alright.” I agree.
We set up on the first floor and make a small meal out of the food we have left. Leomi closes the window and lights up the fire they extinguished while I lie down in a corner. She joins me without a word and holds me in her arms.
“I'm sorry I got hurt.” She murmurs.
“Is that an apology?” I ask.
“No, I feel sorry that I screwed up.” She sighs.
“How?” I question. “I'm the one who failed at protecting myself.”
“Only because I missed the arrow. You would have noticed the rock if you didn't have to cover for me.” Leomi mutters, sounding disappointed in herself.
“It was dark.” I say, taking hold of her hand.
“Mhm.” She nestles her nose in the pit of my neck. “Next time, let me get shot.”
“Ugh, no.” I chuckle. “I would have to track down everyone involved for revenge, that's way too much work.”
“And destruction.” She adds.
“And destruction.” I acknowledge.
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