They walked through the streets carrying a dead body wrapped in a cloak. Cless thought people would find it strange but she instead was met with respect. They were geared like the delvers they were and after some time she realized what it was. People die in the Dungeon. Sometimes the body was recovered and the citizens paid their respects for those that gave their lives to fight against the monsters that threatened to devour them all.
She accepted their respect. Helga's mother, whose name she didn't even know, died as a victim, collateral in a plot of greedy individuals to make money out of people's misery. Smuggling, evading taxes, racketeering. She moved on without minding her surroundings and soon they were back at the tavern. They entered the back alley to evade most of the curious passersby.
"Venaris, go to the kitchen and call the cook, please."
Only now she noticed she forgot to introduce herself. She needed to unwind. She needed a bath and a roof. She didn't notice when the gnome returned with the man.
"Guild master... Is this?"
Cless hung her head and hugged the body. "Yes. Helga's mother. They killed her last night. When we were out. They never intended to make good on their promise to release her."
"Over here. Come to my house." They went deeper into the alley and up a flight of stairs precariously hung on the side of the building. It led to a small apartment over the tavern. The apartment was cozy, homely. Several cooking implements decorated the walls, small kegs with spigots lined up over a counter separating the kitchen from the living and dining room.
"Put her on the table."
Cless respectfully placed the woman on the table. The cook removed the cloth from her face.
"Hildegard." He said and tears flowed from his face. "Who did this?"
"Some thugs. I'll have the mastermind in my hands soon enough. Where is Helga?"
"I think they are at home. After you left, I talked to the kids. The ones you rescued last night. Stay here, I'll go get them. Help yourselves to the ale in the kegs and the bread in the basket by the counter over there while I am out."
He left, shoulders slumped. The Blind Eye sat around the table. Nobody went for a drink. They heard hurried steps on the stairs and a desperate Helga followed by a frowning Heimdall entered the room.
"Mom! Mom!" Helga hugged her mother's corpse and cried. Cless and Venaris couldn't hold in and shared the young barmaid's pain.
"Who did this?" Heimdall asked.
He shook Cless' shoulder and repeated his question in an angry tone. The tavernkeeper sucker-punched him in the face.
"Respect your benefactor, fool! Guild master here goes out of her way to rescue you for no payment, she brings your mother back to you and this is how you treat them! You disgust me, Heimdall. Keep it up and you'll be nothing but a common thug dying in a gutter soon enough."
"I'm chowwy," Heimdall mumbled.
"Heal. - You're welcome by the way," Cless even tried to smile but she couldn't. "I'm not angry at you, Heimdall. Now I'll ask this only once. Are you with me? We are bringing down the smugglers, the kidnappers of your mother, and whoever is behind them. I want names."
The young man shook his head.
"I don't know who is above Dagon or Steppenwolf. We took orders from their guild members, not even from them."
Cless stood up.
"They should be at the guard station yet. Dagon will tell me who pulled his strings if I ask."
"I doubt that," The tavernkeeper quipped. "But I know you are a person of action, guild master. Go do what you have to do."
Cless was about to take off when she stopped, turned around and met the tavernkeeper's eyes. "I'm Cless, by the way."
"I'm Gerald. Pleased to meet you, guild master. Please do pass by the kitchen. I told my assistant to make you lunch to go."
They returned home with their lunch. They had to feed Kate. Shad could dig for crystals or hunt vermin in the tunnels.
"Is Clegane the real estate agent?" Vic asked between bites of his food.
"Dunno," Cless answered, trying to curb her irritation. They were sitting on the ruined manor's foundations. "We will hear from them sooner or later. I'll know when one of them die and it didn't happen yet. What should we do? There's the corrupt priest."
"Okay. We'll go through the tunnels and get this priest. Then I do my thing to him and we get another piece of the puzzle."
They finished eating while the golem shoveled more ashes to a side of the pit. There was just a little of material burning now. Maybe tomorrow Cless could wrap it all up and start rebuilding. She wanted to stop this wild chase but she knew that if she didn't unravel this conspiracy, she would never be safe in her new place. The Blind Eye guild descended to the catacombs once again, this time taking the path to the church. She had to remove a few grate doors on the way up but they reached the graveyard.
It was the middle of the afternoon by then. Cless changed into her priestly robes and hung her One God symbol. If only by name, she was still part of the clergy. They moved out into the graveyard tight alleys and as expected, a guard was watching the exit.
"Hey, you! Stop right there!"
He approached and Cless moved to reach him before he reached the guild. "Greetings, templar." She told him. The guy should be some street thug hired by the priest involved in the smuggling. She was giving him a huge upgrade. Templar was a third-tier militant class.
"Who are you? A priestess? What are you doing down there?"
She froze as she tried to think of an excuse. She went with the first thing that came to mind. "Who is the priest responsible for these catacombs? We found a tunnel in the Dungeon, followed it into these old catacombs and we fought vampires!" From this point out she yelled out loud, blatantly calling the attention of the few visitors of the graveyard to herself. "Vampires! Bloodsuckers in the holy ground! Desecrating the dead with necromancy, raising a horde of skeletons! Where is the Inquisition when we need them?"
Dead, very dead. Thankfully dead, Cless quipped to herself. She continued with her mad priestess act and intimidated the guard into doing what she wanted.
"What are you waiting for? Call forth the priest that told you to watch this entrance!"
The guard ran away. Cless pulled the hood of her cloak down to hide her snort. Soon enough not one but three priests came. The older one was angry, the younger one was concerned, and the third was scowling. Quick question, detective. Which one of these is the culprit? Cless didn't know. She only wished she could ask each one of them a question like the mystery books she read.
"Who might you be, sister?" The angry one asked. He managed to ask politely even though he was very angry.
"What about vampires?" The concerned one asked. His eyes were flying left and right. Cless thought he was here only because he still had daylight.
"How did you come out of that mausoleum?" The scowling one asked, fire in his eyes.
Pick your smuggler. Five seconds. Cless slowly met each one of their gazes. At the first one, she smiled. At the second one, she shrugged. At the third one, she stared.
"Is this the one that told you to watch this specific mausoleum, templar?"
Scowler scoffed. "Templar? Are you out of your mind, sister? Are you even a priestess?"
"Answer the question, guard," Cless demanded.
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"You don't give him orders!" Scowler replied.
"Just nod if it is him!" He nodded. Cless squealed inside. Charisma was an awesome Stat.
"You prove your identity as a member of the clergy or I'll imprison you, girl." Angry threatened.
Cless curtsied but she was looking at the angry one when she did it.
"A pertinent question. What spell do you want me to use to prove it, father?"
"A basic Hallow should be enough," Angry answered.
"As you wish. Hallow!"
Spell potency is derived from Intellect. Cless didn't have all the boosts from the stacked clerical classes, but she had six to eight times the Intellect of a spellcaster her level. The spell reached near-holy-maiden levels.
She interrupted the chant a few seconds after the spell reached its maximum area. Back to the hundred meters radius, it seems.
"That was a marvelous display of holy power," Angry remarked. He seemed less angry now.
"Good. Now that my claim is confirmed, I accuse that man of being in collusion with the undead!" She pointed at scowler.
"That is preposterous! This woman is insane!" He shouted to defend himself. The other two clergymen took a step aside to watch both of them.
"Oh. Lets' see then. Under the One God's guidance, I pledge to only say the truth. If I incur in falsehood, may I be compelled to smite myself with a Holy Bolt. Can you do the same pledge with me, father?"
"It is absurd! I will play no games with this heretic priestess."
Cless smirked. "Of course you wouldn't. You fear the One God's judgment. Weaver of falsehoods, accomplice to darkness, I denounce your crimes under all that is Holy!"
The man clenched his fists and then looked at her, defiant. "You have nothing to prove your point. There are no vampires in these catacombs."
"I say each of you can ask me one question if I can ask him a question in return. I swear on my Holy Symbol, if I lie in even one of them, I'll surrender. Is that fair enough?"
"Do it, Kleber," Not-so-angry-anymore answered.
"Fine. I agree to your terms. One question for a question, if I lie may I be compelled to Holy Bolt myself."
"At the least power for the first one, of course. The second lie should be done at full power. The third one should combine all our Stats to smite the life out of the liar. If any of us die, the other gets what they want the most from the dead."
"Of course, whatever." He grumbled.
Cless triggered her Skill to bind both of them to their promises. "You can go first," she told them.
"Fine," Kleber the Scowling priest stood defiant. "Did you meet vampires in the catacombs?"
Oh. An easy one. How auspicious. Cless smiled. "Of course not! I just met smugglers! Living smugglers." She watched him squirm. "Father, it is your turn. I'll save my questions for later." She told the formerly-known-as-Angry older priest.
"Why did you accuse brother Kleeber then?" He asked.
"I have reasons to believe that 'brother' Kleeber is in cahoots with the smugglers. I came here to get him and turn him to the guard."
All eyes turned on Kleber. He was enraged. "That is absurd!"
"I want to ask my question." The younger priest raised his hand. Cless nodded. "Do you believe in the One God, sister?"
Aww, things were going so well. Cless clapped her hands and lowered her head in a praying pose as she tried to win time to rack her brain for a solution. Light shone on her.
"I believe in the One God as much as High Inquisitor Trevor does. My faith in the One God is equal to his." She felt her Skill wouldn't let her off the hook with sophistry. She added, "Does this satisfy you, brother?"
"Yes, it does. Sorry for asking." He seemed really contrite. The pressure from her Skill vanished.
"Wait!" Angry regained his monicker. "Did you meet the High Inquisitor? Do you know where he is?"
"What priestess didn't know of the High Inquisitor's deeds? The sisters I knew were anxious for his private prayers." She lied through her teeth. She never agreed to the fourth and fifth questions. "My turn now!"
"I will not play your games,"
Kleber was about to turn around when Cless shot her first question.
"Are you involved in the smuggling operation to take Dungeon goods out through the catacombs out of town to evade taxes?"
"Of course not, that is absurd! Gahh — Holy Bolt!" Kleber blasted himself off his feet. "Aaaaagh! Heal!"
Kurt snorted. Cless also laughed.
"Next Question. Please do name everyone involved in the smuggling operation besides the Dragon Delvers and the Timberwolves guilds?"
Kleber looked at her with seething rage in his eyes. "I will not play your games!"
She pointed a finger at him. "Is that your answer?"
"No! What trickery you did to me?"
"Our magic comes from the One God, brother Kleber. You are suffering divine punishment. Now answer the question or be smitten!"
He was breathing irregularly. His pupils were dilated. "I won't name anyone. — Holy Bolt!" He blew his face off. Almost literally.
"Heal!" Cless had a spell ready to save his life but not his dignity or not-so-handsome nose.
"Third question. Do you promise to plead guilty of being part of the smuggling operation every time this is asked by me or a city authority? Just a reminder, if you lie now you'll die. — Shield of Faith."
"Go to hell. Noooo! — Holy Bolt!"
In any other day, Cless would feel bad for the priest that just blew his head off. The day she carried an innocent woman across the whole city that was murdered because her son was a criminally idiotic criminal? No. She moved her tower-shield-sized Shield of Faith to block the spray of blood.
> You gained the D-rank Skill [Diplomat]: You gain the Diplomat profession at a third of your level.
She raised her hands. "Praise the One God! He passed His holy and just Judgement!" Cless blatantly blasphemed.
The two priests were slack-jawed, looking at the corpse on the ground. The guard Kleeber hired was already out of the graveyard.
"How did you do that?" The angry priest asked.
"I did nothing. He blew himself. And he was a criminal. You are witnesses unless you are involved. Are you, father? Are you, brother?"
"What? No. I did see some delvers coming and going too many times in and out of the graveyard though."
"Yes, this stops now," Cless frowned and shook her head. "Speaking of coming in and out of the graveyard, we need to talk, father."
"What is wrong with the graveyard?" The young priest asked.
"Well, you need to find another place to bury the dead. I'm the new landlady and I want you out. I'm going to wall off the whole area and the smugglers won't have a place to move through."
She took the deed from her deeppocket and showed it to Angrier-priest.
"This is preposterous! The graveyard is church property. This document—"
"Is both legitimate and notarized by the lord's seal. Look, we can strike a deal. Get me a five-meter wide corridor leading from my property over there to the Dungeon street and the graveyard is yours, including two levels of catacombs immediately underneath it. You have two days."
The corridor would save Cless twenty minutes of walking every trip to the Dungeon. She thought of using the underground passage the smugglers were carrying the goods to and from but it would sound bad after all the trouble she was rising. She hoped they would take the deal. She wanted to dump all the bones from her side of the catacombs into theirs. Moving the graveyard around would also be huge trouble.
She received a mental ping from [Invader Awareness]. Someone hostile entered her plot of land. Better check it fast.
Status:
> Name: Queen Cless Hreidmar of Myrkheim and Infernal Realm (in exile)
>
> Race: Human.
>
> Level: 90 ( 875,500 / 4,095,000 Exp ) [Experience Threshold > level 40]
>
> Class (tier) level (Experience):
> — Dabbler (1) 25 ( 300,000 Exp / ** ) — Beast Tamer (2) 25 (900,000 Exp / ** ) — Vicar (3) 25 ( 1,500,000 Exp / ** ) — Wizard Princess (4+1) 17 (1,405,500 / 1,428,000 Exp )
>
> Professions — Veteran Warmaster 25 (300,000 Exp / **) — Master Instructor 19 (617,972 / 665,000 Exp)
> — Crafter 25 (Skill) — Farmer 25 (Skill) — Herbalist 25 (Skill) — Alchemist 25 (Skill) — Woodworker 25 (Skill) — Diplomat 25 (Skill)
>
> Base Stats — Strength: 85 [204] — Agility: 110 [264] — Health: 127 [304] — Intellect: 200 [400] — Wisdom: 200 — Charisma: 302 — Magic: 300 [600]
>
> Available Status Points: 107
>
>
>
> Skills:
> S-rank: [Absolute Contract]
>
> B-rank: [Fear Aura] — [Perfect Might] — [Succubus’ Kiss]
>
> C-rank: [Appraise Immunity ] — [Craftsmen] — [Dangersense] — [Dragon Skin] — [Earth Magic] — [Eat Anything ]
> — [Elven Longevity ] — [Master Miner] — [Seductress' Charm] — [Shrinking] — [Underdog] — [Will of the Mage]
>
> D-Rank: [Acute Smell] — [Alchemical Tolerance ] — [Alchemist ] — [Architectural Ingenuity ] — [Breathless] — [Curmudgeon crafter ]
> — [Dancer’s Grace ] — [Darkness Resistance ] — [Diplomat] — [Druidwalk ] — [Farmer ] — [Gemsense ] — [Giant's Stamina ]
> — [Great Leap ] — [Grounding ] — [Herbalism ] — [Ladykiller] — [Merchant sense ] — [Miasma Sight] — [Ore sense ]
> — [Poison Resistance ] — [Runner's Dash ] — [Sharp Mind ] — [Singer] — [Snakes' Flexibilty ] — [Spell Resistance ]
> — [Steelshine ] — [Tinker ] — [Tremorsense ] — [Woodworking]
>
> E-Rank: [Air sailing ] — [Axe Thrower] — [Bikini Muse] — [Burrower Bond ] — [Cat User] — [Chick Magnet] — [Coin Sense ]
> — [Enhanced touch ] — [Food Conservation] — [Gravebreath ] — [Hearth’s warmth] — [Heavy Lifter] — [Howl ] — [Pack Rat ]
> — [Pickpocket] — [Seamstress] — [Silk Hair ] — [Splinters ] — [Sword User] — [Virility] — [Wanderlust ] — [Weavertouch ]
>
> F-rank: [Florist’s Wonder] – [Gardener’s touch] – [Inner Compass]
>
>
>
> Techniques:
>
> — [Beast Taming VI] — [Beast Status] — [Share Skills]
> — [Sanctuary]
> — [Appoint Stronghold] — [Appoint Demesne] — [Appoint Protector II]
>
>
>
> Spells (Master Instructor: +2 to all. Spells without a number are at the soft cap / * denotes a level 25th ultimate):
>
> Divine: — Mending — Detoxify — Light — Turn Undead — Blessing — Holy Bolt — Purify — Protection
> — — — Hallow — Flametongue — Cure — Uncurse — Banish — Heal — Warding — Revivify*
> — — — Censure — Bulwark — Mass Mending — Sacred Dance — Judgement — Song of the Accord*
> — — — Water Breathing — Shield of Faith — Sanctuary*
>
> Mage: — Detect Magic — Mage Bolt — Armor — Firebolt — Icebolt — Lightning Grasp — Shield
> — — — Fireball — Resistance — Shockwave — Magic Missiles — Wind Blade — Deeppockets* — Blink*
>
> House: — Detect Dust — Doorwatch — Prestidigitation — Never Overdone! — Touch Up — Dry — Repair — Clean — Bloom — Hearth Recall*
>
> Earth: — Soften — Earth Armor — Spike — Stone Shape — Earthen Maw — Earthwave — Terrakinesis — Golem*
> — — — Earth to Stone — Grasping Hand — Spike Wall — Construct*
>
> Wiz.Princess: — ???? — ???? — ???? — ???? — ???? — ???? — ???? — ???? — ????
>
>
>
> Proficiencies (Master Instructor: +2 to all. Values under 10 hidden / {A} = Automatic Proficiency: Soft Cap +5):
>
> Appraise: Status: 80 — Resistance: (immune) — Forgery: (immune)
>
> General: Prayer: 80 — Reading: 50 — Architecture: {A}
>
> Academic: Magic Theory: 50 — Spellcraft: 50
>
> Crafting (+9 Profession): Tailor: {A} — Embroidery: {A} — Knitting: {A}
>
> Farming, plants (+38 Profession): Foraging: 30 — Forestry: 30 — Gardening: 17
>
> Farming, livestock (+13 Profession): Dismantling: 30
>
> Production (+9 Profession): Mining: {A} — Weaving: {A}
>
> Social (+25 profession): Negotiation: 80 — Persuasion: 80 — Bluff: 80 — Flirting: {A} — Sexual Technique: {A} — Etiquette: {A} — Dancing: {A} — Singing: {A} — Gambling: {A}
>
> Movement: Running: {A} — Athletics: {A} — Balance: {A} — Jumping: {A}
>
> Martial (+18 profession): Leadership: 80 — Intimidation: 60 — Tactics: 80
>
> Weapon (+18 profession): Long Blades: 80 — Unarmed: 80 — Archery: 80 — Maces: 60 — Pickaxe: {A}