Chapter Seventy-Six: Purification, Part 2
Three weeks long they journeyed, only staying in the surrounding villages and towns long enough to make sure they weren’t infested with the Revanchist’s ideals. Thankfully, they were fine, and so Reza left them soon enough.
Eventually, Reza and Roberto reached the village she was hoping to liberate. Esperança, a town she’d never visited but heard much about. It was a metropolis, as much as those existed in the country of Umafé. The houses all rose to two or three stories, and the men and women all wore fancy clothing, while the Lord and Lordess of the city stayed in one of the only occupied palaces in all of Umafé. Many times Reza had heard that the Palácio de Esperança was a small mirror image of the Royal Castle, but she’d never seen either before, so she couldn’t confirm that.
Now that she saw the palace, she couldn’t imagine anything bigger. The Palácio de Esperança stood wide, bigger than the one in oriente, and this one was colored in reds and yellow, with three spires forming a triangle for the sides of the palace. In the center was a massive cupola that Reza knew would be made of glass at the top, but from the vantage point below, it looked like red marble.
The rest of the village was created to venerate the palace. Buildings, spires, and arches all curved slightly inwards towards the palace at the south of Esperança, which was not in the middle of the city but positioned to point to the Royal Castle in Umafé.
It was enough to make a grown woman cry. Reza felt sick already.
“What are we here for?” Roberto asked her, riding the horse they’d bought in one of the nearby villages, a request from him due to his exhaustion. He’d named it Deusa, which Reza thought was a terrible name, but it was too late. Still, she much preferred Cavala, a stupid name too, but that was the point. Why else would you give your horse a fish name?
“None of your business, baby,” She told him, not endearingly. “Just follow my lead and you’ll be fine.”
“I was curious is all,” the Ancient huffed. “And I would love to know why you call me darling, or amor, or baby. It’s very strange, and I fear it’s not because you like me.”
“It’s not,” Reza confirmed, barking a laugh. “Trust me, if I liked you, you would know. My physical contact is not something you could ignore.” When her follower’s eyes went wide, she grinned. “The more you know, the less you wish you knew, eh?”
“No, I just never heard anyone be so upfront about their, you know…”
“Sexual love language.”
“Yeah.”
“What I said was pretty tame, darling, but if you want…”
“No, thank you,” Roberto exclaimed. “I’m okay.”
“Whatever suits you,” the champion shrugged. “I wonder where you came from. Most teenagers your age wouldn’t mind a little dirty talk.”
“I’m not a teenager, I’m twenty,” The man huffed.
“Act like a kid to me,” Reza responded. “Where do you hail from, duckling?”
“I am a Lord’s son,” Roberto affirmed. “From Umafé, if you must know. I haven’t talked to them in a while, but when I see them again, they’ll be ecstatic that I am now a full Ancient.”
“Not a good one, if you needed to recruit me for a simple job;” Reza pointed out.
“Ouch, that was uncalled for,” Roberto huffed, crossing his arms. “And yes, I may not be skilled in combat or any magic like that, but that is not the only task Ancients can do.”
“Oh, really?” Could’ve fooled me. Now, come, the inn is this way.”
“How do you know? I thought you’d never been here!”
“I haven’t,” Reza responded. “But I can already smell the ale.”
Sure enough, a few blocks later, there it was: The Bawdy Bosom. The sign was designed to attract customers of the sexual kind, and thus Reza took a disliking to it, but it would do the job. After all, she wouldn’t stay here long, only enough to root the corruption from this town.
The innkeeper met them as soon as they came in, a portly woman—not a surprise—with a smile on her face—also unsurprising—who looked to be in her young twenties—now that was a surprise!—and she beamed as they entered.
“Welcome, travelers. Our boy Jace will put your horses in the stable, as I see you left them at the entrance. Dinner will be served shortly, and you may pick a seat. Ale?”
“Yes, please, amor, thank you,” Reza told her, and she beamed even more, if that was possible.
“And you’re nice too! Thank you for choosing this inn, and may your exploits be successful.”
As they sat down, Roberto immediately set a barrage of questions on the champion.
“You never told me what we were doing here! So what is it, huh? I’m your apprentice, you should know. Does it have to do with Dautha? Or are we just killing civilians?”
“Calm down, baby, I told you, just follow my lead. But first,” Reza said, drawing a stack of papers from her pocket. “You will distribute this through the city.”
“What’s this for?” Roberto wondered.
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“The citizens here are restless, tired of the Lords ruling here. Although there is no proof, they are clearly Revanchist disciples, and they rule with an iron fist. We, or I, actually, will kill them.”
“So a coup? And how do you plan on doing that?”
“We’ll be staying here for only a week, hopefully, although we may stay longer. During that time, we will start by rioting the emotions of the citizens. Eventually, we will create a riot, and during it, we will kill the leaders and anyone who stands in our way, be they atheists or disciples.”
“And I will help you with that?”
“If you wish,” Reza told him. “You will help me riot the citizens, but whether you choose to help me take down the Lord and Lordess or not is your choice.”
“Then I will do it.”
“I feel the need to warn you: this mission is dangerous, and there is a likely chance you will die.”
“I will do it,” Roberto repeated stubbornly. “I vowed to be your apprentice, and that I will do. My mother did not teach me to be a promise-breaker.”
“Wouldn’t mind it if you did, honey,” Reza shrugged. “It’d be better for you, and I don’t like your companionship anyway.”
“Aw, you’re just saying that. Somewhere inside that callous heart of yours is a spot left for poor, little Roberto who slowly but surely you are growing fond of.”
“Not really.”
“Come on. We’ve been on the road together for one week. You can’t tell me it hasn’t been fun!”
“One grueling week listening to your petty whines and mumbles,” Reza said. “I would sooner have you out of my life than in it, amor. I suggest you get used to that. I don’t see any other way to tell you this except bluntly: I have complete disregard for your life, and will put my own first, no matter what.”
“Of course, that’s what you’re saying now,” Roberto smiled. “And I understand anyway. You’re serving a Goddess, so you might be more important than me.”
“Hm, yes, that’s exactly why,” Reza shook her head, then smiled. “Ah, and the food arrives. Be silent now while I eat.”
For Reza, meals were a moment of peaceful, silent meditation, thinking of what she must do and of what she already had done. Sadly, ever since she’d begun to travel with Roberto, it had not been that way. Not that the Ancient talked much, quite the opposite. The problem was he chewed like a horse!
Fogo, that beast they called a man got on her nerves.
Reza ground her teeth into dust as she heard the man chew, swallow, and bring more food to his mouth.
“Mmm,” He groaned, closing his eyes in ecstasy.
For a while, the former beast hunter tried to ignore him, but it was impossible to meditate while he was eating, and so, she chose to observe her surroundings.
The patrons of the inn all gazed suspiciously around, most either alone or in groups of two. Only a few looked relaxed, but this was not the type of inn for that. If she wasn’t careful, Reza would get her coin stolen. She had plenty of that now, due to the amount she had been paid by the woman who had told her she would meet a God.
That woman still owed her coin, and Reza wouldn’t easily forget that. She would probably never find the woman again, but if she did, she would make the woman pay up, or she would pay.
“Can’t help but notice you,” A man said, walking up to her. “A pretty, young thing like you.”
“Oh please, baby, you know I am neither pretty nor young,” Reza spat. “What do you want?”
“Just a little alone time,” the man said, sliding a coin towards her. “I can pay.”
“You think I sell my body?” Reza’s nostrils flared up. Most likely a cutpurse of some kind, but maybe I can use him.
“Yeah, she’s not up for sail,”Roberto exclaimed. “She is holy, chosen by god.”
“I’ll do it for free,” Reza smiled. “Baby, you have a room?” Roberto gaped, but the man only smiled wickedly, snatching his coin back.
“I am sorry for any offense,” He said, his voice snake-like. “I only imagined that you should be paid for any services.”
“Oh, they aren’t for you alone,” Reza stroked his cheek. “I’m going to enjoy it just as much. Roberto, we’ll be right back. If the innkeeper asks about me, I went to the washroom. No need to talk about my private life.” Grabbing the man’s hand, she dragged him upstairs to the rooms, laughing like a child. “What room are you in, darling?”
“This one,” The man sneered, opening the door to one.
I doubt it. Probably someone else’s and you’re just here to use me and kill me. We’ll see how that happens, amor.
Rough hands shoved her against the wall and suddenly the man kissed her.
“Heym take it slow, amor,” Reza cringed. “I don’t like it rough, it reminds me of the Revanchist’s disciples.”
“Oh, I guess they must’ve abused you, eh, my love?” The gruff man asked. “I apologize for that. Where did they come from?”
“Just outside the city a few months ago,” She replied. “They said they lived at the palace.”
“Those bastards,” he spat. “Yeah, I know the types. They do a lot of that stuff around here.”
You only hate them because they ruin your business. Still, I was right about my information. The people here do hate the Lord and his revanchist.
“It was the Lord who ordered it?” She mock gasped, and the man nodded.
“It was, but, baby, let’s not dwell on that now, shall we?” The man asked, then kissed her again passionately, his tongue swimming around hers. “This is more important.”
I think that’s all this man will say.
Reza let him kiss her, even leaned in a little to calm him down, and calm he got, relaxing in her form and caressing her upper body.
Okay, that’s enough. I don’t want anyone to fondle my body.
The man grabbed at her clothing, preparing to rip it and throw her clothes to the floor, his eyes taking on a lusty look as he gazed at her. Just as he began to rip her top, exposing cleavage, Reza’s fist went up, stopping just an inch from his lower jaw.
Just enough for the knife to enter and puncture him. The man gurgled, eyes widening as blood began to flow and his jaw began to hang limply. With her other hand, Reza slit the man’s throat.
“Bleeding cutpurse,” She smiled. “Literally.”
She cleaned her knives, licking the blood off them each before returning them to her sheathes. Then she grimaced at the body. While she hated to leave it here, she had no choice. She had to meet with the innkeeper later to apologize to her later and to pay for the damages. But the truth was that the man had deserved it, and she didn’t feel bad for it. He had been an atheist anyway.
With a sigh as she stared at the blood on her clothes and the state of them which would look like she’d been having sex—as much as she had made Roberto think she was, she didn’t want everybody thinking that—, she walked down to the stairs, where Roberto’s jaw dropped.
“He was that quick, huh?” He asked.