Chapter 48 Petty Dealings.
Never underestimate fear.
It is fear that leads to action.
It is fear that leads to inaction.
Fear leads to schemes.
And fear leads to death.
Rakisha, Mother of all Demons.
{22} Mayan (December) the 19th
On the sixth day of the journey, we go down the lower slopes at the bottom of the mountain. And on the seventh day, we reach the city gates at the feet of the mountains.
Massive plates of iron held by thick chains cover the short stocky walls, they don't leave a single piece of stone uncovered. This is Numila. After seeing the size of Axero every other city seems small in comparison. We approach the iron gates in the late afternoon and are allowed through after Salik reports our business to the guards.
Unlike Axero, this city has wide streets and open skies. Most of the buildings here are made out of gray stone, two to three-story buildings at most. A pleasant symphony rises from the slanted slated rooftops, which house dozens of colorful birds.
People on the streets wear all kinds of wool and velvet clothing for the cold weather. Unlike Axero where every type of outfit could be seen, here the outfits are more uniform. The women wear closed up dresses and coats with colorful thick shawls. Some wrap their heads and hair with the shawl, others just have it around their neck and arms. While the men wear robe-like coats held by a thick colorful sash.
Unlike Axero, most of the people here are human. I only notice a single dwarf wearing the local clothing as we walk the streets.
We escort the carriage within the wide streets toward the richer area of the city. I am surprised to see that the mercenaries don’t break their groups to wander around the city yet, they all stick to the carriage, eyeing the nearby citizens like potential threats. If anything, they seemed to be more on guard here than on the road.
Now I am truly curious about what or who we were escorting. With that in mind, I get ready. I keep my hand in my rose petals bags. If anything happens it’d be best if I take off to the air as fast as possible.
But nothing happens. We reach a small mansion with a few guards at the entrance. They all wear uniform with the same noble crest as the one on the carriage’s door, a black wolf on a forest green field. They all seem to be highly alert. But when I look around, everything seems quiet. The guards talk to Salik in hushed tones, and a pair of them come with us to open the door.
A maid walks out of the carriage, carrying a baby in her arms.
Mystery solved! Escorting a creature?! My head is too much into magic. A baby wouldn’t need to leave the carriage to take care of his needs, all he needs is to have the maid change up his diapers… I would’ve probably spotted those diapers if I paid more attention… I wonder why this baby never cried… I guess it's a quiet baby? Some babies don't cry much...
A black streak crosses my vision. The maid shrieks, holding onto an arrow stuck in the baby she holds.
My eyes open wide when she collapses to the ground. I rush to her, and get a good look at the arrow stuck in her chest. The bloodied wrapped blankets fall to the ground, there’s nothing but rugs in them. There was no baby. This maid is a decoy, of course I didn’t see diapers...
“Nothing you can do for her. Look alive!” Salik orders me.
The guards and the mercenaries make up a quick shield wall, but nothing attacks us. The young maid holds my hand gasping, tears coming out of her brown eyes. I can save her with a potion… but I don’t know how to get another… I’ll ask the hag later! If I can save a life, I will!
I tug the arrow out of her chest. She screams and holds my hand in an attempt to stop me. “I’m trying to save you!” I push her hand away, looking at the bloody hole above her breast. I snatch the potion from my pouch, uncork the bottle, and press it against her lips. “Drink! It’s healing magic!” I order her.
She holds onto my wrist as she gulps down the content of the potion. The wound in her chest closes up. She gasps. “Thank you… Thank you… I…”
“You’re welcome.” I smile, and a good feeling wells up in my chest.
“I don’t know how to thank you, I… I… if there’s anything I can do?”
I help her stand up. She stumbles and leans most of her weight on me.
The place turns chaotic. People running around, guards scrambling to give chase to the assassins, and the mercenaries all stand there with solemn faces. “So? Do we get paid?” Sorer asks aloud what’s on everyone’s minds.
“I don’t know,” Salik answers with furrowed brows.
“Boss, did you know we were escorting an empty carriage?” Elitar points a finger in Salik's face, almost as if Salik is behind this decoy and manipulated him personally.
Salik just shake his head as an answer.
“I’m sorry the carriage was empty, I couldn’t say no, I’m so sorry!” The maid apologizes profusely to no one in particular.
“It’s not your fault lass, it’s…” Sorer doesn’t finish his sentence.
“Are you the mercenaries my uncle hired? Useless! Don’t you dare show your faces here again!” A beautiful noble lady wearing a gorgeous blue dress on a perfect figure comes out of the mansion. Her dark hair is fixed in a complex way, and the amount of jewelry she wears is just right. Her amazing looks incite some insecurities about my own looks. I can tell she had her maids work on her makeup for a long while.
With my experience as a part of the nobility, it’s quite easy to figure out that this was planned from the start. She never planned on paying us. She or her uncle had expected an assassination. We were simply an easy decoy, and our chances of delivering that ragdoll safely were slim. If we did manage to do it without encountering any assassins; that would indicate they have a mole very high up. For a noble it was a very good move, but for the mercenaries… I am surprised they even took this job. Should I say something… I can probably squeeze the money out of her… But is it worth the trouble? It’s not like I need that money…
“Very well milady…” Salik gives her a nobleman’s bow. The group of mercenaries behind him exchange angry looks and loud whispers.
“Are we letting it go, just like that?” I whisper my question to Berthold.
“Of course not! We’re going to let the word out.” He answers with a loud whisper. “Nobody will trust house Edisu anymore.” This reply makes sense. The mercenaries have their own unwritten rules, and this noble house had just violated them. No one will work with them from now on.
Sorer leans in closer. “But it means we have to be extra careful on our way back. The boss will have us resupply and set onward as soon as possible, we won’t get our break.” Right… in order not to let the word out, they’ll try and assassinate us…
Oh, that’s just great! Now I have a target on my back because of a stupid mercenary job that has nothing to do with me… Should I use the hag’s name? No… I don’t know how much it means there, and I can’t count on her for everything…
“I’m so sorry!” The maid apologizes again. She stops leaning on my shoulder, and runs toward the manor.
The mercenaries turn to leave, but not me. I’m not walking out of here with a target on my back!
I prefer to settle things here and now rather than have some assassins come after me later…
“Lady Edisu, was it?” My heart pounds in my chest, and I can feel the adrenaline in my bloodstream. Despite the fact this is only a conversation, I am now risking my life.
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“And you are?” the woman turns around, sneering at me.
“Lady Marisha nuk Vodit.” I answer with a small curtsy and a bright fake smile. “But my noble background doesn’t matter. Let’s drop the pretense, shall we? How much are you going to pay your assassins and how much did you promise to pay Salik over there?”
“Oh my! Assassins? I am afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about…”
“Fotyr”
Nobles, like everyone else, fear the strong. Finding out this mercenary company has a mage could turn her head around, and even if she has a mage backing her it’s still something to consider, a gamble.
I use my crown pool to prod and sense the nearby people, none of them has mana in any capacity, not even a meager presence.
She doesn’t have any sense of power in her. If she even has an apprentice backing her at all, she won’t be able to tell if her mage would win against me... I can’t feel anyone, and I’m pretty sure mages are too valuable to lose on a small money game with mercenaries.
She eyes the flame in my hand with a gulp. “Three thousand gold on the safe delivery! But it wasn’t a safe delivery!” The noble calls out as she takes a step back.
She doesn’t have a mage then… and she’s scared of me, that’s good! “And the assassins?”
“I did not hire that assassin!” she points at the slanted rooftop where the arrow came from.
“As I’ve said, let’s drop the pretense or I’ll get angry. The assassins you were planning to hire in order to come after Salik’s company. Or the bandits you were about to tip off…”
The woman grits her teeth and signals for a pair of her guards to get closer. This is a test. She’s testing my power, my confidence, and how far am I willing to go in order to get what I want.
The closest guard closes the distance, now about a meter from me.
“Wrong answer lady Edisu…” I turn around and give the guard an apologetic flirtatious smile. The blue eyed man frowns at me. This middle-aged guard must’ve seen this kind of face from the girls he had caught red-handed.
But I don’t want to apologize and convince him to let me go, I just want him to drop his guard. I want him to treat me just like every other young girl who realizes she’s in over her head. Since he’s wearing an iron breastplate I’ll have to be careful. But he does not wear a helmet…
He takes a breath. “I’m sorry young lady, but you can’t…” these are his last words.
“Rinim ril shariss!”
Ignoring my fluttering heart, I smile, doing my best to project confidence. “If you think little bits of iron will save you, you’d be wrong.” Iron has to touch me to block my magic… but since I can only use projectile spells… that shield is a little troublesome...
A group of guards in leathers aims their crossbows at me. “Rinim ril shariss.”
“Felul felik.”
She can’t hide the way she licks her lips nervously. “I’ll pay! Ok?! I’ll pay!” she mutters through gritted teeth, gathering her wits with anger. She signals the guards off, and the servants bring out a small wooden chest full of gold coins. I guess that was prepared in the case of the unlikely safe delivery.
Shortly after, I walk out happily with the rest of the mercenary group. They’re carrying their payday, chatting, laughing, and praising me.
A violent pat on my back almost makes me fall headfirst into the paved street, “Ha! Thanks shaman lady, we do need that gold!” The three meters tall orc cackles.
“I knew three thousand sounded way too good to be true!” a slender man with a painted face adds, he fidgets with one of the many javelins in his quiver.
“Your drinks are on me young lady.” A bald man with a large kite shield on his back steps forward.
“And me! Let me contribute some.”
“Um… I don’t exactly drink, but thanks,” I reply with a smile.
“Buwahah then food! Food is on us tonight!” Sorer shouts.
Seems like I became their mascot. Goal achieved. Especially since I’ll need them for hunting magical beasts… This is nicer than I expected… I've been alone for way too long. And now, there are no assassins after us either…
“Did you really have to kill that man?” Elitar asks.
“She had to know I’m serious.”
“But he had nothing to do with it, just a random poor man following orders. You save that maid with such an expensive potion and then kill a man for a little bit of gold without batting an eye. Does life mean nothing to you?!” There's real pain in the bard's voice, he clenches his lute as if he's about to break it.
How can he even call himself a mercenary? Don’t you people kill for gold? “So you wouldn’t kill for some gold?” I raise an eyebrow.
“Not so coldly! Not an unsuspecting man that probably has a wife and children back home! No…”
“That’s enough Elitar. You can’t expect everyone to live by the Lady of Life’s laws and values,” Salik intervenes.
This guy doesn’t understand Nobles the way I do. That lady only looked for an excuse to kill us cheaply. If I hadn’t backed up my threat with true force, we’d be fighting to our death with all of her guards, and we’d probably end up dead.
“Hey Salik! Does it mean I get a bigger share?” I earned this one.
The tall man gives me a rare pleasant smile. “How about ten percent?”
It’s funny, three hundred gold is only three gems, which isn’t a lot of money for me. And these guys have sixteen members in their group - assuming each of them gets five percent and they put the rest for the party’s money pot, their pay for this job would be one hundred and fifty gold.
I guess I am filthy rich by their standards huh? “How about Sorer gets my share and he gives me the pixie?” I suggest, flashing a smile at the man in question.
He seemed to ponder the idea. While the rest of the mercenaries who cheered for me just a moment ago all say things like “Don’t be a pea-brain man!” “You're snowing mad if you give that up!”
Elitar is the worst. “That thing must have its worth counted in magic gems, not gold.”
I give him an angry glare. Be more grateful you bunch of rotten snakes! I just secured your pay and made sure you won’t have to fight for free on the way back!
To my disappointment, Sorer shakes his head. “No, I think this little venom jar is worth a whole lot more! Isn’t that right you little harpy bug?” he lifts the container, tapping on the clay. “Let me out! Out! Out!” I can hear the pixie screaming inside.
For a moment I am filled with sadness and regret for trapping her. Despite how annoying she was and the fact that she tried to rob me, she was cute. Harming such an innocent-looking creature for my selfish ambition makes me feel like a bad person.
And yet it’s either that or eating my fellow humans, if I want to advance I have to do one of these. Besides… sheep and pigs are also cute, it doesn’t stop people from eating them and they smell. I am cute, and I can still kill a man with a couple of words…
Cute doesn’t mean harmless. A pixie that looks ‘cute’ can be extremely dangerous… There is no way I am letting her go after harming her, I have no idea what kind of revenge she can bring on my head later on… and cute doesn’t mean I shouldn’t harm it, it’s just mean it has another layer of protection… which I just used against that guard I’ve killed…
“Ok then, suit yourself! I’ll be taking five percent like everyone.” I turn back to Salik. “Split my extra share between everyone, or buy yourselves drinks.” Loud cheers follow my exclamation. I don’t need the extra money, I have plenty. Each of the hag’s assassination missions paid me ten times their whole pay. While giving them this money is a way to get on their good side and build rapport. If I’m planning to go out hunting again; I’m going to need the rapport with a group like them.
Salik nods in approval. It’s obvious that he knows what I’m doing, but he’s not against the idea. I proved my usefulness to him, and as such, having me around on missions with them can only help.
Content, we proceed to the nearby temple of Tonisha.
*~*~*
Power level: 2nd stage apprentice.
Mana pools status:
Crown-knot: Affinity 10: formed: 1 gem replenished per five minutes.
Neck-Bridge: Affinity 6: formed: max amount of gems drained per day: 66
Abdomen-storage: Affinity 5: formed: 6 gems. Conversion ratio: 6:1
Air: Affinity 4: formed: 18 gems
Fire: Affinity 2: formed: 9 gems
Light: Affinity 3: formed: 14 gems
Water: Affinity 6: formed: 27 gems
Earth: Affinity 1: opened: 3 gems
Wood: Affinity 2:
Gravity: Affinity 9: formed: 40/41 gems
Cantrip known:
Air: Shavi’s Breeze, Shavi’s Sword. Shavi’s Hair Dryer, Aria’s Enhanced Hearing.
Fire: Nuriss’ Flame. Effrat’s Firefly, Effrat’s Fire Breath. Sorladika's Lesser Heating.
Light: Noxi’s Light, Lako’s Blinding Light.
Water: Water Evocation, Water to Ice, Ice to Water, Water to Vapor, Vapor to Water, Mayan’s Icy Spike, Ayla’s Water Jet.
Earth:
Wood:
Gravity: Lumina’s Kinetic Burst. Tukado’s Repulse. Tukado’s lesser shield. Imari’s Minor Telekinesis. Imari’s Jump. Leo’s Pull. Leo’s Grounding. Alino’s Light Body. Alino’s Heavy Body.
Spells known:
Gravity: Alino’s weightless bodyb.
Focus capability: 10 patterns
Social status: apprentice to the maven of mysteries.
Wealth: 900 gems. 1817 gold coins, 13 silvers, 47 coppers.
Items:
1 simple healing potions.
2 potions with unknown effects.
An enchanted belt with eight pouches, the enchantment keeps the pouches’ content fresh.
Fresh rose petals, 8g
3 soul containers size 1. (Borrowed item. Ownership: Maven of Mysteries.)
Roll of magical cloth, any carcass wrapped fully in the cloth will not rot. (Borrowed item. Ownership: Maven of Mysteries.)
A magical pouch, any carcass attached to the pouch will shrink in size. (Borrowed item. Ownership: Maven of Mysteries.)
Languages:
Toml’a
Sinteo
Myrsha
Felul
Injuries and scars: Back, lightning scar.