“You won't get away with cheap tricks like those, Elena.” Lorena replied, her tone not faltering in the slightest.

“No...” the woman in question whispered. “A new Halve... how long has it been? I know! Inform His Excellency Perculis! He'll vouch for me.”

What the fuck.

“Perculis is dead,” I told her. “Everyone knows that.”

A few seconds of silence followed my words. Lorena never took her eyes off of Elena.

“What...?” her voice was barely a whisper that she almost choked on. “His Excellency Perculis... dead?”

“Don't act like you don't know,” I retorted. “Who are you, anyway?”

“I was... born in 54.780, Photem's Third Era, Fifth Age of E'er. My name is Elena Pazh'Khun” she quickly said, looking at each of us. “I was going to join Her Excellency Yulianna. We're supposed to track down an Ijir'en that threatens a Jorrksuuv nest near Koluum.”

“That happened over two thousand years ago,” Lapia scoffed. “Don't lie!”

“I'm not!” the woman insisted, her eyes going everywhere. “Please, these are trumped-up charges!” her eyes found mine and her face turned pleading, “Your Excellency, please! I have not done what these people claim. I swear!”

“You tried to kill me barely twenty minutes ago,” I argued, arching my eyebrows. “Now you try to pull names out of nowhere... seems really suspicious to me. Names, I must add, of people either dead or out of reach.”

“If she's telling the truth, that means she's three thousand five hundred and twenty years old,” Lapia muttered, squinting at the woman still on the ground.

“I have proof!” the woman insisted, slowly bringing her right hand to her ear where the storage item was. “I... where's my earring? No... there are documents that prove my identity... please...”

I looked at Alyssa. She was staring at the woman with a raised scaly eyebrow. Her eyes met mine and I gestured for her to follow me as I stepped away.

We walked to an empty spot behind some bushes.

“Did you see any signs of mind control?” I asked her in a low voice, glancing at the panicking woman.

“No, her mind was broken,” the Luzo shook her head. “A mind-controlling spell or curse can't do that.”

I nodded. “What do they do? Do people become like puppets?”

“Not really,” she replied, looking up at me. She sighed and scratched her left horn. “How do I explain this? A person remembers everything they did when they were under such effects. That's why they are questioned after lifting the mind control. It's more like... an inescapable suggestion... they don't change drastically, but new ideas are slowly added to their minds? Mind controlling people is a really difficult thing to do because people are deeply in tune with their minds after integrating their second class. The mind is not so easily influenced.”

“Okay, got it,” I muttered with a sigh. Then, I closed in on her, “You see, I spoke Abyssal and she kind of broke down. Cried blood and all.”

Alyssa's eyes widened to their limit at my words.

“I... see,” she nodded, looking at me in deep thought. “Maybe you erased her memory?”

“Wouldn't that erase her classes, too?” I asked, thinking of the class-memory thing.

“Not... really,” she slowly replied, squinting her eyes as she thought about what I said. “Classes rest in the unconscious' dormant memory as you should already know. That's deeper than mind control. Surface memories can be altered if you damage the brain's frontal cortex. I repaired the damage, so... maybe you broke everything, returning her mind to two thousand years ago.”

I stared at her for a few seconds.

“Can that happen?” I asked, a little skeptical. “Are there any monsters that can erase memories?”

She nodded, a complicated expression on her face.

“There are a few,” she confirmed. “Some can steal memories, others can erase them, others copy them. Some can add fake memories, and people think them illusions or hallucinations. Sometimes they believe the new memories to be theirs, mostly young Chasers or inexperienced ones, and things can get really complicated. Classes are never involved in these events, otherwise the monster would gain them. There is one monster, however, that can go that deep,” she bit her lips for a second, her scaly brows knitting together. “The Mind Flayer. They guard Blood Fiends' nests. Extended exposure may result in class loss. They're incredibly dangerous.”

“Holy hell,” I whispered. “So, we could say Abyssal can erase memories? That'd explain her reaction. She was calling me 'Halve scum' a while ago.”

“Hmm,” she thought for a second. “No, I think Abyssal breaks the mind, which is what I healed. There was no brain damage, however. Other than a small concussion at the back of her head.”

“Yeah, she hit a tree after I used Intimidate Prey,” I nodded.

“What's that?” she perked up, looking at me. “You used Intimidate Prey?”

I nodded.

“And she didn't jump to fight you?” she asked, an understanding spark in her eyes.

“No, she didn't,” I confirmed with a nod. “She actually told me to kill her.”

“I see...” she muttered with a smile. “If she was capable of speech after receiving your Intimidate Prey, then she definitely had something else on her mind that prevented your warcry from working. Thing is... she won't remember because you broke her mind.”

“Also, trees weren't uprooted and flattened,” I pointed out. “Maybe I subconsciously held back?”

She giggled.

“No, Natasha,” she shook her head. “Trees have stronger roots around here. I assume you refer to your encounter with the Me'ik?” I nodded and she continued, “Those were young trees. Riverfield is not as old as Lakeview, so trees are harder to cut down, or moved, around older cities as they absorb E'er with time.”

“Ah, okay,” I nodded again, it wasn't that far-fetched. “So, she was probably mind controlled, but we won't know... and we can't get info from her... because I erased her memories?”

“Most likely,” she replied with a nod. “I'd suggest you don't speak Abyssal when dealing with sentient beings unless you're absolutely sure they have no important information.”

I let out a long sigh.

“Looks like I fucked up,” I muttered, scratching my left ear.

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“In a way, yes,” she whispered, bringing her right hand to my face. “But it's alright. There are fates worse than death, and this isn't one of them.”

We returned to the others and I let out a long sigh again.

Lost the biggest lead, I thought. Fuck me dead.

“So,” I began, showing Elena the earring. “I have your storage item. We'll have a talk back at Lakeview.”

The woman nodded, a little relieved. Lorena produced some rope and tied the Elf's hands behind her back. The rest of the watchers assumed formation and our group mounted up.

Lorena guided Elena, the Tigea pushing the Elf's back. Nino, the Cleric boy, followed behind Zenno, the Watcher Cleric.

On the way, I looked at the sky and let out an annoyed snort.

What a waste of time.

I focused back on the path and kept quiet as we circled around the town through the forest, avoiding the lake of the shore. We came to the road that followed all the way to Mountroad, then we turned towards Lakeview.

The town's entrance was pretty basic. A wall of stone some twenty meters high. A big door opened to let the Watchers inside, and we followed.

The streets were simple cobblestone, the buildings wood. It was pretty cozy for a vacation. The dungeon was a kilometer to the east, just outside the city. We took our sweet time clearing it, I mostly observed how everyone fought when we went there.

As we moved further into the town, we came to the Watchers office. We left our mounts on the rest post next to the building and went in after the Captain. The woman guided us to a small room, me and Alyssa the only ones interested in what the woman had to say. Lapia didn't give a single fuck, Yolin was satisfied with the healing, Pokora declined, Bonte chose to stay out, and Bromisnar joined the catboy.

I stood next to a wall, Alyssa on the other side of the room. A low table had Elena and Lorena staring at each other. The Elf had her hands tied behind her back still, and her face was patient.

“So, Elena,” Lorena began. “You claim to have no recollection of the events leading up to the attempt at Lady Natasha's life. Is-”

“Don't call a Halve by name, young woman!” Elena berated the Captain. “How dare you!”

“I gave her permission,” I commented, checking my silver nails.

I had stored my armor, the leather garments the only thing on my body. And underwear, obviously.

The Elf nodded at my words.

“Your Excellency,” she called to me. “May I hear your name?”

“Natasha Novak,” I replied, a little bored. “Call me by name.”

She gulped.

“Could you... please check my storage item for documents that prove my identity?” Elena asked with a fair amount of respect.

I checked the item, but had a hard time identifying which items were documents, and which weren't. So, I pulled out one by one. Naturally, I went for items that weren't blatant weapons or armors, so anything resembling written documents.

A book titled 'Anatomy of the Penis, How to Please Any Species' materialized in my free hand.

Okay?

I put it in my storage for the time being. If I put it back into the earring, I'd lose track of the items. Next, a book titled '200 Positions to Conquer a Man in a Single Night', came out.

Mhm... Saw this one in Riverfield.

I stored it and pulled another. 'Incelf: Myth or Reality? A study of High Libido in the Long Lived'. I used every point of strength available to not laugh. The following books were similar, all sex or romance related.

Noticing the three waited for me made me speed the process.

“What am I looking for?” I asked after 'The ABC's of Vaginal Pleasure'.

A world where women are sexually liberated must have more information than a backwards Planet like Earth, I thought, squinting at the book.

“A thin plaque, Your Excellency,” she muttered quietly with a bit of shame. She had eyed the books I pulled out. Maybe I was exposing her.

I nodded and searched for the thing. I came across three items that resembled plaques and pulled them out.

They were credit card-sized plaques in various colors and materials. The first was black, the second was golden with a very beautiful 'H' carved on it, and the last one was a white metal.

I read the black one first. 'Honored Guest of Paar'khan Ladies Orgy House for Single Women' was stamped on it, probably E'eral Obsidian by the feel of it. The words were clean, crisp, and incredibly legible. I was surprised by the text being in Common.

I smirked at the item and put it back.

The golden plaque had 'Proof of Ownership of Halven Items – Issued by Her Excellency Yulianna Kavun'. It had a little text on the back:

'To any who it may concern: Elena Pazh'Khun is permitted to carry weapons and armor of Halven origin. You are not allowed to take these away. I, Yulianna Kavun, shall know of the theft of such items and will pursue you with deadly consequences to your entire family and organizations. No questions asked.

If one of my kin comes across this message, I vouch for Elena. She has served me well for a thousand years. Greetings, my kin.'

I stared at the plaque for a few seconds.

I should get one of these. But how could she know? Is there a mark or something? I wondered as I glanced at the Elf.

“Recognize this?” I asked her, waving the plaque.

She shook her head.

Figures. She remembers going to meet Yulianna, not having joined her for... a thousand years.

I read the last plaque. 'Proof of Identity – Elena Pazh'Khun. Faeton Elf born in the tenth day, seventh month, 54.780, Photem's Third Era, Fifth Age of E'er. Red hair, turquoise eyes, ehelen skin.'

Next to the color name was a small dot that showed it. I glanced at the Elf and back to the plaque. Everything was in order. The 'ehelen' color was caramel, I noticed.

I nodded and walked to the table, then put everything in front of the woman.

“Checks out,” I confirmed.

Lorena scowled.

“Her mind was broken,” Alyssa joined the conversation, looking at Lorena. “I healed her after Natasha dealt with her. I suspect she lost her memories due to an unfortunate strike. I'm sure you noticed her head bleeding.”

Elena looked at Alyssa, then at me. She smiled and nodded to herself.

What? Got a gaydar? I wondered, squinting at the Elf.

Lorena let out a long sigh that turned into a groan.

“Alright,” she went over the plaques and scratched her head for a bit. “This got complicated. Lady Alyssa, was there any trace of mind control?”

The Luzo nodded, looking at the table.

“Me and Natsha concluded there was enough evidence to point in that direction,” she said. “Her mind was beyond repair, and her... extreme change in attitude would be explained by loss of memory.”

“About that,” Elena spoke up. “Could you tell me what year it is? You said Perculis died... how long ago was that?”

“Three hundred years ago, Perculis passed away of old age,” Lorena informed her. She produced a pocket watch and continued, “It is the twenty... second day of the fourth month, year 1980 Yiama's Era, Fifth Age of E'er.”

Elena's face paled.

“So the Domi Elf's words were true...” she muttered. “I... can't remember more than a thousand years of my life. How... why? Where is Her Excellency Yulianna?”

“In Makah,” Alyssa replied. “She left Leks after Perculis death. No one has reported any findings about her.”

“Nilenna is looking for her,” I supplied. “So... just wait?”

Elena's face turned pained, then she closed her eyes and tears began pouring out.

This is the result of wanting me dead, I thought, staring at the suffering woman. I was a little angry I lost the lead, but at the same time conflicted at making her lose two thousand years worth of memories.

I sighed. But the most I felt was pity for the woman. Probably used against her will to try and kill a Protector, the kind she apparently was pretty close to.

Good thing I didn't kill her, I thought. Still, Yulianna may want to say something about it. How do I even contact other Halves? How did Nilenna find me?

I shook my head. That was a problem for another time.