High Road: Eastern Borderlands
A dark carriage moved past the forest, rattling in a hurried clunk as the wheel strained to keep pace at the rush of the driver's need for escape.
Hoots and shouts of men followed the carriage, their drunk wildness was obvious from the addicting adrenaline of the chase.
But inside the carriage, the scene was the opposite. Cuboid was primly sitting with a fan on her lap, and unperturbed by the bumps and clattering noises made by her current transport. Her calm felt remote and disconcerting.
She was not alone. Beside her were two other beastials under the skull unit, Cranial and Palatine. Their distinguising features had been conveniently hidden. Their fluffy ears were securely covered under a maid cap, and their tails wrapped on their thin waists.
"They're funny, aren't they, my lady?" Cranial said, lifting the curtain of the window and watched the group of men chasing after them.
On the lead was a man named Maco. He might not be the leader of the bandits but shouldering the title of the second-of-command of Ulfr's Bane gave him authority and respect of a hundred men. All were capable of murder, rape and pillaging.
When the maid-wearing Cranial locked eyes with the man, Maco licked his lips and he whipped his horse. The rear of the carriage was right infront of them and the anticipation of another good haul was intoxicating.
Despite the high of the moment, the man reigned in his greed.
"Oh, so that's him, he looked nothing special," Palatine shoved closer and excitedly peeking with her companion. The two looked like children window shopping for their next pet that Cuboid smiled lazily.
She, with their lesser master's instructions, had been briefed about this man.
Just with all profession, he had taken banditry with a levelheadedness that made him rose to ranks. That same civil attitude was too out of their brutal underground guild that his boss had taken him directly under his wing, even if he was still technically green on the ears.
Suddenly the man lifted a horn to his lips and the sound blown signaled the chasing bandits split to two. The small group he had taken cut directly to the forest. It was a shortcut that they had been using to ambush their prey.
The winding road would snake at the next turn, and with their speed, they would be well off in time to await their haul.
"Ah, he's gone now," Cranial returned to her designated seat and commented.
"Have you taken fancy for our little bandit, Cranial?" Cuboid teased.
"Don't jest, my lady," Cranial sulked with a disgusted face. "We simply find his eyes pretty, those lustful eyes were really wonderful to be added to our collection". Even Palatine nodded and giggled.
Cuboid lightly tapped her fan on Cranial and Palatine's forehead, "your enmity, dear loyal maids, it'll ruin your gorgeous face," she warned. And the two hastily, concealed their growing miasma further inside their soul gem.
Their soft pinkish, very human looking, lips quivered until it settled to a small humble smile that was suitable for their servant status.
From the outside another voice was heard, "should we speed up?," their driver reeled back his head and looked at his passengers. But his eyes were hopeful telling them that he want this game to be over with as soon as possible.
Radius was forcibly trying to make himself less agitated, his free hand was hard pressed on the beaver hat on his head, afraid that the wind will carry it off. With their forces, they could crush these men but because of this play, they were forced to take on the role of the mouse fleeing.
He was in fact, from the left arm unit, so he shouldn't be with the skulls trying to do odd jobs for simple intel gathering. But since, the familiars were originally from the slave stocks of the Canary, few of them have the knowledge of horses. Radius, unfortunately were one of those few and the demand for this sort of work passed on to him.
Cuboid was familiar with recklessness of the left arm unit and decided to give him a simple treat.
"Stop the carriage," she ordered and the eyes of the familiars started to shine brightly.
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They have finally arrived on their destined route. With their heightened sensitivity, it was easy for them to pinpoint the bandit's location. The second-of-command continued hiding with his men, waiting for the ripe time to launch their attack.
"Hold, Maco, ay heard there ought'a be meat, aye?" even at the distance, Cuboid could watch a scarred man managed to stride beside him.
The men guffawed with brutal light on their eyes. "Wi'd 'dis lands naw ours? I reckon, we ar'tah savor meat 'til Myrkva tak' us," another one answered with undisguised drool and lust.
"Took boss a long time, but aye, we own these borders," Maco lied calmly.
Cuboid smiled understandingly, that her cool beauty had turned purer and more benevolent. Taking credit of the demise of the other bandits was now common. With the loss of their rivals' share on the territories, the vast majority of the borderlands became under Ulfr's domain.
They too had loss some men, but as fate had it, the ones that had fallen were mostly coming from their enemies.
Seeing them boasting and flailing cluelessly to take merit was interesting, but she did not take it against them. If someone was weeding their enemies for them, then who were they not to welcome it?
"Let's go," she whispered. She didn't need to explain further when their horses started to advance frantically and made a dash at the road straight to the bandits hiding place. The carriage still wobbled uncontrollably behind.
When the extravagant carriage came to the bandit's view, their tension intensified and killing aura came emanating from them that the familiars became intoxicated.
But there was more high grade aura that they were seeking, and that was 'fear'.
In a flash, the whole carriage swerved and Radius held the reins for the horses to jump. Coincidently, it's left wheel hit a rock and the whole mass of mahogany and metal railings was in the air.
"What the...clear away! Clear away!" a nameless bandit shouted.
Watching a flying carriage had made the bandits scrambled to their feet and dodge in an undignified clamor. It hit three of their men and caused a few to stumble with concussion.
Their shouts of anger and threats filtered with curses felt like flies buzzing for attention, and so she complied.
While the dust had yet to set, the door of carriage abruptly opened. A beautiful woman stepped out, her clothes were simple but the cut and quality of it gave a regal atmosphere to her. And with a very calm expression, Cuboid hold out a severed head for the bandits to see.
"This belongs to you," she said matter of factly and tossed the man's head to Maco.
The man gulped down when he realized that her gaze was in line to his neck, and he visibly shivered. It took awhile for his eyes to focus on the severed head and recognize the face of the man.
"""Boss!""" A collective shout echoed on the forest and the bandits begun their usual spouting of threats and curses.
The familiars had seen through all of these similar raiding and robberies that they dismissed their ramblings to a rabid dog who doesn't know which hand to bite.
"Say, how many of ours died, Rad?" Cuboid said plainly ignoring the bandits that had surrounded them.
"Six," Radius scowled.
She didn't missed the turn of his words and asked, "is mental calculations really that hard for you, driver?"
"Ask your Malar and his unending lists, let's see if you won't vomit figures," he replied scathingly.
"Ah, is that the tone you should use to our lady?" Palatine said, but her eyes were mischievous, "come my lady, ask this humble servant another question, I do not mind polishing my arithmetic."
Radius rolled his eyes but still answered a half-hearted apology. Cuboid took Palatine's offer and asked, "okay then, my maid, then how much is one person's worth?"
She really had no habit of calling them by their role, but the repetitive reminder was needed for her to make them understand the responsibility after they were given new skins. She was afterall, the one in charge of them.
Palatine scrunched her adorable brows and scratch her cheek, "by 'their' standards? About three?"
Cuboid nodded briskly, her saint-like smile hadn't lessened, then said, "kill six of these men, for each one of our dead. Lord Nomen did offer us a ride that should elevate their value twofolds even if they're pigs."
The four-horse-drawn carriage indeed originally have six people when it left the southern city-fortress. But one thing led to another and they picked up a few people from the road. Those people, Cuboid and company, have the same visage of nobility. The original travelers of course offered their services and wanted to curry favor for a good deed. They didn't knew that by the time they passed the borderlands, they would encounter bandits and were killed.
By that time, Radius had snatched the reins and made a sloppy attempt to escape. An intentional error, after all if they were indeed set to runaway, they wouldn't be rounding up these pigs for slaughter.
"Ah, my lady is really generous," Cranial and Palatine said in unison.
"Hoh, why didn't you asked earlier, I wouldn't have mind counting," Radius laughed and pulled out his sword.
Maco was pale. His hands unwittingly grip his sword harder and eyed the four people infront of them. He could be considered low-level at being a thief, having only acquired the class for two years but as a warrior, he was already on the first tier in swordsmanship and he knew that these people were dangerous. But it seemed that he was the only one with eyes to see the danger, since his men became more rowdy, snarling and inciting a reckless confidence that their numbers brought.
"Six of us?! Pah," the scarred man spat on the ground, "aw right, you'd taek six to y'ar hole, aye?!" he laughed and others joined in with the dark humor.
It was accompanied by other lecherous sentiments but their shouts suddenly became horrid. Cranial and Palatine opened their mouths and a high frequency sound was heard paralyzing the men.
They writhed on the ground, some were drooling saliva, and others were pressing their hands on their ears. Those more affected had been bashing their head on the ground or the innocent trees, leaving a trail of blood and flesh on the surface.
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His eyes were blurring with blood vessels popping from his iris, wet blood was trailing on his ears.
Cuboid lazily watched the men's utter helplessness.
"Too easy," she heard Radius muttered, a bored, discontented expression had creeped in to replace the excited one he wore earlier.
"Can you vow that you won't lose your cool once you rampaged, my driver?" Cuboid teased and she was answered by a meaningful silence from her fellow familiar, knowing that as a beastial undead, his blood would always boil to claim humans. It was the reason that they used [soundwave] from Cranial and Palatine to disarm their targets to avoid unnecessary bloodshed from their group.
Their laidback attitude had dampened the bloody scene but for those who were still alive, their faces had darkened and their mind were screaming from agony, almost equalling their captors as demons and monsters alike.
It was a first for them to encounter sound magic. This magic afterall was a high level and rare affinity magic. It'll need a balance execution of wind and earth magic, two opposing elements. It was not as destructive as fire and water, but still on a scale that needed meticulous channeling of power. Palatine, holding on the air magic, and Cranial, using the earth, was able to synchronize and create a shapeless attack magic that was almost impossible to defend from.
"Let's see," her eyes roamed the remaining men and gathered her skirt towards Maco. He was still livid, but he fared better than his men.
"Your face looked familiar, I wonder why," Cuboid remained looking down on him and brought her fan in a resounding tap, the red feathers of the Burnheart Pigeon closeted together and a feather fall down gently infront of the man. At that moment, the pressure of the frequency decreased, but his body was still paralyzed.
He must have felt the third tier strength of her battle aura emanating from her, a subtle warning that he should behave enough not to be stupid. Even if it was only a few leap of tier of difference, that difference was equaled to two hundred levels that could easily crush him.
"I don't know you," Maco scowled, and the fan immediately lifted his chin so Cuboid could study his face more. The hot weather of the eastern borders gave gold on his skin, and the philandering lifestyle of the bandit had yet to show on his belly or physique. "But if I did, would you show mercy?"
"Mercy...is that something you people possess?" his scowl deepened and she scoffed, "I guess no, so why ask it of us? Really, aren't you putting too much value on yourselves, thief?"
Maco shouted now, "You talk of value when you placed thirty six of us equal to six corrupt and rotten nobles?!"
Cuboid's eyes started lighting up with interest, "you know you're numbers, and your words were literate...are you really just a simple bumpkin road thief? If then, how many lives should I claim?"
It was clear that it was a question that he never expected, but it was a chance for a negotiation. A bargain that could possibly save his and his men's lives.
He gritted his teeth until blood drip on the corner of his mouth to focus, but his bias hatred made him stubborn, "none, they deserved death and be ripped of their skin."
What a misplaced pride for a bandit, or is it a commoner's entitled injustice towards the higher bloods? Cuboid thought. It was also something she had felt a long time ago, when she was still a commoner with nothing to offer to the world, aside from her life.
Then she said for him to hear, "even Uncle Roginn?"
The name affected the bandit and his eyes widened. His eyes shifted on her whole body, looking for any similar features to the herald of the Rust-Iron Bronze. That's when he saw the ceremonial dagger of the house Oreindr on her hips, and he finally recognized the striking red feathers that could only be find on that old man's estate.
Cuboid ignored his conflicted expression. She retrieved a box from the carriage and emptied it on the ground, silvers, jewelries and only a handful of golds, piled on top of the other. They glinted against the sun, giving a few light to blind the men, "these were worth at least three hundred gold. You risked thirty-seven lives for a measly amount of three hundred gold coins, doesn't that mean your lives were only worth eight golds each?" She laughed and her mirth sounded like bells chiming, "a horse had more value than your lives."
She lightly kicked the pile and it toppled closer to Maco, "when you look at it that way, wouldn't it be better if you just all die?"
"Wait!" Maco bellowed, with his all his strength he looked up towards Cuboid, "I know Lord Herald Roginn!" his eyes panicking for any strand of hope that he might be saved. Hope when it lodged to your system was hard to let go of.
"Oh? Really?" she said, taking her time for the words to show her interest.
"I was his Trusted, once, ago when..." he trailed off. There was guilt now, taking the brutal features of his face and he looked vulnerable.
We know. Cuboid had been briefed by Mistress Delica.
Maco, was one of those men who had raped Lady Gunnier, the youngest lady of the house Oreindr and was supposed to be dead wife of the Canary.
It was a wicked sense of humor from the nobles. Maco and his fellow knights at the barracks didn't knew that the one they were playing with one drunken night was actually their lady they had once sworn to protect. Their drinks had also been pinched with aphrodisiac, and he was too young to control himself.
At the end of it, he was able to escape but the haunting truth of what he've done followed him. He had convinced himself so much that he was a bad person that he settled for this path of banditry.
It was only through this that he could kill to his heart’s content the nobles that caused too much pain to people like him, who were treated as nothing but disposable pawns and collateral damage.
The feeling of power and superiority over the lives of others can't be compared to anything he had experienced before. As it was, absolute power could truly corrupt any man, before long he forgot the initial reason he took up his sword again.
But then news of the Rust Irons fall into ruins had reached his band of thugs and lowlifes. Already, his heart was turbulent and he was only able to keep away from the sting through women and alcohol.
The knighthood banner was a humble and strictly militaristic so the relationship of the knights towards their herald was thick with camaraderie and respect. Remembering those days was like keeping a dam to his raw emotions. And now, he was facing a woman related to his Herald, the one person he had taken vow to give his lifeblood with. To say that his emotions were in chaos would be an understatement.
While he poured out his heart out to Cuboid, she was ecstatic. For a grown man to be this easily manipulated was amazing, but she didn't shown it to her face.
After laying everything bare, Maco was stripped off his own dignity and pride, even the shallow arrogance that come from being a bandit was reduced to a shameful part of his past. The part that his life was also forfeited since their lives were now on this woman’s hand also made him feels at a loss. In retrospect, this was also a way for him to bargain for his life.
"My name is Desme of House Oreindr, third cousin removed, of the Fallen Rust-Iron Bronze," she said after a long silence, "do you wish to do right by my house once again? Sir Knight Maco of Edelei?"
Sir Knight
He remembered his knight-training, the sparring, those late night drinks with people he had spilled blood with. It was a title he never thought he'll hear ever again and the sound of it attracted him.
If eyes could speak, his would have asked if it was really possible for him to get everything back.
"The title, the riches, your honor, your life, could be restored, if you swore your loyalty to me, Sir Knight," Cuboid said, answering him and she unsheathed the ceremonial dagger and placed it directly to his heart. "But my path is not easy."
Without letting him digest what she said, she gave him another incentive to join her, "I journey to exact revenge for the fall of Sir Roginn."
Vengeance.
Maco made a satisfied grunt, "you were hunting Aiven of Gallinthe?" A feral hunger came to his eyes.
This person had been into the dark realities of life, that it would be impossible for him to believe that he could still be saved. If anyone gave him any offer for salvation, he would surely shun it and wallow in his own pit, but if you let him use that very same pit to drag others with him, he would surely be delighted.
Aren't humans so interesting?
"I want him dead," she assured him that his specialty for cruelty would not be in vain. And his mood began to raise as he assessed how much profit he could get from her. The civilities of a conservative person came to him at last and he was looking at the pros and cons of the deal she was offering.
Emotional people were unpredictable, if he grabbed her hand to settle something as unreasonable as honour, she would have chopped his head off. But the greed and lust of this man was reassuring.
This time, they picked the perfect person for the job.
"Yes," that one syllable was like a magic word that released him from the paralyzing effect of the maids. He took himself unto one knee.
"I, the one standing infront of you, with the name Desme of House Oreindr, given to me by my Lord, take you Sir Maco, stripped of land and shade [of] under the cloak of renounced Rust-Irons Banners," she announced and the vow was completed.
The vow should never be tampered with, but it could be misled.
At this one, the only loophole was the name she was using which was as mentioned, given by her lord and mistress, Lady Delica. A couple of clever wordplay, and the only thing this man heard was that 'Desme' had taken Sir Maco, of no land and shade, under the cloak of the Rust-Irons.
The man finally stood up, he seemed taller than he once been, and at once, his eyes softened towards Cuboid, "my lady, Desme."
It was not impossible that he could overlap the image of Cuboid towards his Lady Gunnier. Even if Mistress Delica can't remember the lady, she was able to pull memories from the corpse of Sir Roginn. The hairstyle, the mannerism, the posture, was all drilled to Cuboid. When she smiled towards Maco, it was the mirror image smile of Lady Gunnier, causing him guilt and grief every single time.
"Sir Knight," she curtsy and then her head went back to the other bandits still squirming on the ground, oblivious of the events that transpired. She pointed at the pile of silvers and said, "these thirty six bandits, I had bought their lives, can you kill them?"
Maco breathe once and bowed, "as you will, my lady."
Brainwashed? It was a start but right now, Cuboid was still far from it.
The reason Maco didn't hesitate was because he can't be certain if these men heard what he had said earlier. That past of him should be buried together with their bodies. And also, just from her words, it was obvious that Lady Desme was testing him. If he didn't obey, then not only would he lose this chance to make right for the banner that he lost, he might also die with them.
Choosing between their life and his, of course he would choose his own.
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"Are we successfully being hunted?" Aiven asked.
On his right was Vomer, relating the words being spoken, and on his left was Malar, keeping two mirror like screen that showed what was happening at the road, two boulders from their current location.
"Yes, indeed, lesser master," Malar replied.
"How long can this Maco reorganize the bandits?"
"Shouldn't we wait to see his abilities? It was the man that took our Mistress' fancy right?" Aiven's eyes sharpened dangerously and Vomer almost jumped out of nervousness.
It had only been months since they had been attacking the bandits, and the amount of information they have gathered was astonishing. However, they can't stay at bandit subjugation forever, and the type of information they have were too random to be useful. So instead, they're going to make use of the bandits themselves.
The Oreindr house had been their ace from the beginning, as long as they found anyone that can be related to this house, they could continue with the plan. It was a stroke of luck for them to have found a banished Trusted of that knighthood banner.
An upfront investigation on the Regalia would cause questions they cannot answer. Touching any info on the Canary or Gallinthe would also cause them to be noticed and might get tracked back to them. But if they investigated the mystery of what really happened on the Rust-Irons, then in this way they would know if they've left holes in their escape.
Whatever information the bandits gets would link to their situation...meaning the situation of hero summoning.
Right now, the whole storage of the Rust-Irons was under Cuboid's discretion. Having concrete proof of her lineage was important.
So it was up to her to make use of the resources, and so far, her judgments had been satisfactory and she seemed capable of handling everything. She might not have a special trait, but that simpleness was what they needed for this to work.
"Once they reached the Fellen Town, contact me immediately," Aiven said and was ready to leave when a familiar head of golden hair appeared beside him.
"Hyaahoy, little Aiven! How's your side project going along?" Delica said then popped a candy to her mouth.
Aiven smiled when he saw her. It was the first thing he always do as a greeting to any of his friends, be it Delica or Simos. She had been so used to it that she never realized how rare it was for Aiven to smile. Even the undead caught their breathe when they saw Aiven carelessly smile like a boy, though he was still a boy for his age.
Like always, she beamed at him and continued to scan the mirror screen over Malar's [Familiar Support Arts: Observer]
But her stare followed the scabbard hanging from Cuboid's belt, as if seeking them. The Oreindr sigil was plainly decorated. And just like always, her eyes dimmed to a seriousness that was alien to the old Delica.
"It's going according to plan," he replied, noticing the abrupt change on the lich.
"According...to plan," she mimicked coldly. There were these episodes, few moments, during their talks when he felt that she was shutting everything out, including him. Whenever that happens, he just felt restless.
Before she could notice anything, he snatched the bag of candies under her nose and started eating one, "ahhhh, my candies! Give it back Aiven!"
"No," he reprimanded, "you'll get cavities."
"Gugh, I...I don't have...ugh, the deteriorating speed of undead can't be ignored so I know about cavities, but still..!" she whined raised her arms to forcibly reach him, but Aiven was successful on monopolizing her bag of treats that she continued whining.
"Aren't you supposed to be the role model of the demon lord?" he asked.
She stiffened as if she took a direct blow from his comment, her fingers twitched few inches away from her sweets before she reluctantly took it back, "you're a meanie! And when did you became taller than me, huh?!"
Aiven paused then stood straighter, stepping a hand span infront of Delica. He placed his hand on top of her crown and she plopped her chest out as if that would add to height.
In the end, he can't help but sigh heavily at the helpless idiot and laterally moved his hand towards him and unexpectedly only reached his forehead.
"Hn, I guess I am," he muttered absent-mindedly. The girl was waiting for a self-satisfied remark from her friend but Aiven just continued staring at his hand still in mid-air. There was a sad expression on his face.
"We should get back, I haven't prepared the menu for tomorrow," he said and walked out.
"Eh, what is wrong with him?" Delica tilted her head in confusion.
The skull unit members who saw the exchange were sweating buckets, as if there was a repeat of the cold dusk aura coming from the gloomy lesser master.
They can't even breathe at the tension and was quivering, conflicted as to what to think at the bizarre behaviour of the lesser master.
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Delica [http://orig10.deviantart.net/6a0c/f/2017/186/c/b/sample_practice__2_by_evangeline333-dbf8sd8.jpg]