Born of the Divine’s blasphemy, ever craving dominance over others, devoid of patience for the lowly, and scorning of strangers; like an eagle soaring high, casting its gaze upon all beneath, yet outwardly displaying justice, piety, wisdom, and faith—this is to exalt the meanest virtues and walk the path of the Asura, the path of manifold carnage.

- Excerpt from the Lavella Tablets unearthed from the Old Ruins in the Beacon Mountains.

The words of my declaration induced a shocked gasp from the gathered women. Niminia narrowed her eyes and I could almost see the rapid calculations that must have been at play in her mind.

However, it was the slender Elenora who tried to break the silence.

“Gi…” she started in her distinct voice. Before even I could react, Larynda struck her with a serpent’s swiftness with the butt end of one of her spinning staves, turning her into a spluttering wreck.

The women looked as if they were about to scream, but something gripped them. I believe that they knew that their lives hung on a single narrow thread of mercy. The last vestige of decency that I had brought with me from my old world.

“As I was saying, I command… the Council commands that you leave these premises,” I continued flatly.

“Please… I beg of you,” Elenora wheezed, grabbing my ankle as she looked up at me. “They have my little Theophania…”

I had to fight back a spike of annoyance. This complicated matters, but only slightly.

“When they took over we became, in essence, hostages and slaves in all but name of the Bulls, whoever you are, honored guest or servant of the Council,” interjected Niminia, running a hand through her hair in worry. “I seek a bargain with you.”

“You are in no position to demand anything!” I shot back, my patience rapidly eroding. This was meant to be a quick in and out.

Larynda gave me a worried look. “We have to help these people…”

Not you too, I cursed inwardly.

“Help us and we will tell you where to find them. You could search this place for months and would not be able to find them,” Niminia added defiantly.

I laughed, unable to contain my growing frustration. “You jest. All it would take is for one of the girls here to crack… Why, even you would not last ten seconds under my ministrations.”

The Gnome gulped in fear but somehow found the bravery to look back at me defiantly. “I have broken bread with you, here under my roof, there are obligations that must be met. And, forgive me if this sounds impertinent, but as a woman who has sold her smile, I have dealt with many men and I doubt that you are the type to torture innocent women…” she put forth, only a minor quake in her voice betraying her.

I smiled a shark’s smile. “You make it sound like a challenge. Also, I do not remember partaking of your hospitality.” I felt that she was trying to deceive me.

“And, and, there is the matter of your companion,” she added hastily. “I doubt you could do such an evil act in front of her.”

“I’ve done worse,” I admitted. “I’ve done worse for the Council,” I corrected.

The half-elven mage Larynda looked at me guiltily. “About that whole guest right thing, I sort of had a few bites…”

The desire to tear my hair threatened to overcome me. I gave my ward a look of thinly veiled ire.

“Hurry up and speak then,” I barked, narrowing my eyes. I felt I had lost a round.

“It is the simple fact that will have nowhere to stay… if you are about to do… what I think you are about to do, then we simply can not stay here. We will need some recompense from the City,” the harlot Nimina had the nerve to demand, crossing her arms. “That the Council only sends two means that one of you is a Dervish of the Dust, one of their elite warriors trained in the Dream. This is an important mission.”

The little woman’s instincts were sharper than I thought they would be. Yet, for all that, close but far off the mark.

“The Council cares little for your petty concerns… I have heard enough, either tell me what I want to know or I will extract it from you one way or another… Remember, when dragons fight it is the trees that are burned,” I warned, proud that I had remembered a Quassian aphorism I had heard from Fen.

“Mara!” Elenora suddenly exclaimed.

The Gnome woman gave Elenora a puzzled look. “What about Mara, Ele? What does she have to do with all of this?”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“I am sure that the Council… no… perhaps the Council would be willing to provide healing for Mara’s condition?” the slender blonde woman suggested, giving me a meaningful look.

Hope sparked in Niminia’s eyes, but rapidly dimmed. “You have the authority to offer this?”

“I don’t like this…” Larynda muttered in her sing-song voice. Rich coming from her, she was part of the reason that I was in this predicament in the first place.

Why couldn’t I just literally shake them violently until they coughed up the information? A moment of introspection later and I found my answer. They were all, without exception, pretty women. Used women, but pretty nonetheless. Embittered by this world as I was, I did not have it in me.

“I do,” I acceded with a reluctant smile. I hated the fact that I had been maneuvered into this. Curses on women and their smiles.

“Very well then. I accept those terms. In exchange for the information I will give you, the Council will agree to heal Mara,” she offered.

“No, woman. I agree to heal Mara. Me, personally,” I replied testily. “Now, for the last time tell me what I need to know or this will not go well for you. Any of you.”

*****

The women had left in a panicked hurry to the Begonia’s Shade. They would be quite the surprise for old Naira. I just hoped that Elenora was skilled enough with her tongue to provide a good explanation. For a moment, I pictured them all crammed into my room and had to stifle a small giggle.

Niminia had been right. Even with the Necromancer’s magical aid, it would have taken me forever to find the path that led to the final den of the Bulls of Heaven.

It would have been a side quest all of its own. The whole thing required me to press a button in the kitchen, another one behind a bookshelf in the study, and then I had to move the arm of a statue in the foyer. Once I finished this sequence in this exact order, it activated a mechanism that opened a hidden passage in the basement. I was told, and confirmed, that exiting was a much easier proposition. A lever by the secret entrance opened up the door. Ridiculous.

The Bulls of Heaven had opted for a more natural approach to lighting throughout most of the underground path. The walls were aglow with a soft green light from bioluminescent lichen and fungi growing on them.

"Remember, we are here to kill as many as possible to break the Bull's hold on Al-Lazar. Saving Theophania, as unfortunate as it sounds, is secondary," I whispered to Larynda.

She frowned, her expression clear even in the dim light. "That doesn’t sound like a very heroic thing to say," she commented.

"No, it is not. It is the realistic thing to say. We will do our best to save the girl, but I can make no promises," I replied seriously.

"Didn't you just make a few promises before? Or do those not count?"

"They were promises made with a greater goal in mind," I responded, though even to me, the words felt brittle and hollow. "I will not give up the primary aim of our mission. Remember, that was a promise I made to you, and I hold that heavier in my heart."

It was always wise to add a disclaimer.

Guilt flashed across her eyes with my calculated words hitting their intended mark. “You’re… you’re not right. But, you are not wrong. We can only do what we can do,” she concluded, gripping her staff tightly.

I noticed that the other one was still strapped to her back. I guess it would have been unwieldy to wield two staves at once.

We continued our way, downwards a strange new sound becoming stronger as we descended. Was that the sound of cavorting? Surely, the Bulls could not be stupid… but then again when you based your base of operations under a well-known whorehouse…

Soon enough we found ourselves coming into a small stone hallway carved out of the bedrock of the city. Two guards slept by a great wooden door, snoring like a smith’s bellows bottles and jugs of what I smelt to be alcohol at their feet. Together with Larynda we slit their necks. It was telling that the young girl showed no reservation nor hesitation in killing the defenseless guards. Most likely that was Kidu’s influence. As for me, I was just glad for the easy gains.

Apart from the expected experience points, I was marginally amused that my Backstab skill went up to level three. I smiled wryly as I wiped my knife’s blade across a deadman’s stained tunic.

So far so good.

“What you giving me that look for?” she hissed, sheathing her blade.

I blinked. “Bit surprised, that’s all. Didn’t think you had it in you,” I admitted ruefully. Anyway, ready for the next bit? I do believe the bards will sing of this day when I singlehandedly took down an entire wing of a great criminal organization.”

“Doublehandedly,” she corrected incorrectly, but I ignored her and pushed open the doors with a great shove.

It opened into a brightly lit underground great hall. I had expected to be met by strong resistance and a flock of guards, instead, I was met with a sight that I could but struggle to register.

We were being completely ignored.

The air was thick with the scent of sweat, wine, and roasted meats, mingling together. The crystalline light from the Zajasite crystals, embedded in the walls and ceiling, bathed the room in a clear and constant light.

Laughter and shouts of revelry echoed off the walls, nearly drowning out the haunting, melodic strains of a guzheng. The musician, a slender figure with delicate hands, plucked the strings with a practiced ease, filling the air with music that seemed out of place amidst the debauchery but somehow added to the surreal atmosphere of the hall.

In the shadowed places, people were lost in their own worlds. Their clothes were askew, their faces flushed with passion. I saw a man, a rugged figure with a mane of unkempt hair, had his arms wrapped around a woman with fiery red curls that tumbled down her back. They moved together with a primal urgency, oblivious to the chaos around them.

Around them, the party raged on, a cacophony of drunken singing, raucous laughter, and the occasional crash of a fine glass or plate hitting the ground.

Servants weaved through the crowd, trays laden with goblets of wine and platters of food, trying to keep up with the insatiable appetites of the revelers. Foreigners, Al-Lazarians, and people from all walks of life mingled without care for rank or propriety, lost in the heady mix of music, light, and excess. The underground great hall, with its glittering crystals and riotous atmosphere, was a world unto itself.

Scanning the room, I noticed a young blonde girl in another corner. Her inherited features were unmistakable, almost a mirror of her mother’s. Theophania was being pawed at by two males, one of which was also familiar to me.

I did not need to use Identify to remind myself of his name.