Our destination was on the lowest rung of society, a classic choice for a clandestine meeting. Our group did its best to remain as inconspicuous as possible despite my celebrity-like status. We took odd pathways, detours through alleyways, and even stopped to wait around corners to make sure that no one was following us. Were we being paranoid? Maybe, but it was better than getting ambushed in route or once we got there.
On the way there, Jorn posed a question to me. “Shouldn’t we be getting the guards involved in this as well? The more people we have the better, right?”
It was a good question, and might have been the smart thing to do, but I had a concern. “Perhaps, but the kidnappers said no guards, and I don’t know if I'm reading too much into it, but maybe they have some way of knowing if we go to them for help. They could have someone being paid off on the inside, or another just watching the guardhouse to make sure that we don’t show up and ask for reinforcements. If either of those things turn out to be the case, it could drive them underground, or out of the city entirely, and if they take Kala with them, then the odds of us getting her back unharmed just dropped significantly. I don’t want to risk that.”
Jorn just nodded along, apparently accepting my logic on this matter. We continued in silence, just keeping an eye out for anything that seemed out of the ordinary. Nothing really appeared to be, but we weren’t going to let up on security until after everything was done and these people were either dead or behind bars.
At the lowest levels we moved mostly through the alleyways and paths off the main road. The change in the construction style of the buildings from scenic to functional was notable as we entered a different part of the city. There were factory buildings, forges, warehouses, mills, and all kinds of other productions buildings that were necessary to keep a society running. Rules on cleanliness and color pallet were obviously a little laxer here as these buildings existed in the shadow of the wall, invisible to the outside world and only ever seen if someone choses to come here.
The people who either worked here or called this place home were a lot rougher around the edges than those I’ve had to deal with up to this point. Grit and grime were the chosen makeup of these individuals, and thick clothes made from simple materials or furs replaced the elaborate suits and dresses that those up top wore. Yep, I still prefer this.
If it weren’t for our current goal, I might have taken some time to get to know these people and perhaps get them on my side, but as it stood, we could talk another time. We were getting closer to where the kidnappers wanted to meet. From the description, we were looking for a house in disrepair tucked up next to an old logging mill.
We saw the mill before we saw the house, which was useful for us to plan out our approach. Stalking around out of sight, ducking between shadows in the alleyways, we scoped out the area. It was easy to find the house, it was a two-story building with faded paint and shuttered windows that practically screamed condemned, but there wasn’t any sign of movement from the outside. This was concerning, so we bunkered down and took a moment to observe and discuss.
“I don’t like it.” Otar stated. “We have no idea what to expect inside, and in all likelihood, it’s probably a trap.”
“I’m with Otar on this one.” Hargon seconded. “We’re lacking a lot of information here, and inside a building like that, I can’t move very well.”
“Fuck that! Those bastards can’t win a fight that isn’t an ambush, so I say we turn it around on them.” Jorn responded with enthusiastic anger. “We hit them hard, we hit them fast, we show those cowards how pathetic they are.”
Hargon attempted to reel him in. “Jorn, cool your head. It’s likely that these guys are mercenaries, meaning they have probably seen combat before. We can’t take those people lightly.”
The three of them started to squabble a bit, keeping things hushed but fiery as they argued for and against charging in. I just let them hash it out between themselves while observing the building, trying to come up with a plan or see if there was a weakness that could be exploited. The other quiet member of the group, Ulthises, slithered up to my side, staring at the building with me.
“What do you think?” He asked me simply.
I took a moment to consider the question and my thoughts on the matter. “Part of me wants to rip through that house like a storm, but the other side doesn’t want to risk losing anyone else. I keep trying to think of a way to reduce the risks to zero, but I'm fighting an impossible battle on that front.”
Ulthises nodded his head. “I can understand that you don’t want to lose more friends.” He began in a sympathetic tone. “However, Kala is a friend too, even more than that for you. We knew what we might have to do when we took this job.” He then shot me a small smile. “It’s a risk, just like everything else, but you know me, I've never been one to shy away from a bet. Besides, something tells me you got a hidden card up your sleeve for this. You plan on playing dirty?”
That made me chuckle as a grin started to grow on me. “Takes one to know one, right?” I nodded in the direction of the building. “If they are in there, and if they are waiting for us to enter for another ambush, then we may just be able to turn the tables on them if we do it right.”
“My money’s on you, all the way,” he said, assuredly.
Having people in my corner was always a nice feeling. Now, though, it was time to split up the bickering menagerie because there was work to do. “Rein it in you three and get your asses over here.” Thankfully, that was enough to make them stop and focus again.
We huddled up, all of us eyeing the building warily. “I take it you’ve decided a course of action?” Otar asked.
I nodded. “We’re going in, but we’re not charging blindly. You have a point, there is a high likelihood that this is a trap, but luckily for us, I brought a little bit of knowledge from my world with me today.” It was then that I revealed one of three handheld crystals that I had prepared for just such an occasion. “Law enforcement in my world uses something similar to what I’ve been able to recreate here. It’s not a one-to-one as there are certain aspects that I've yet to figure out, but this can help us break whatever trap they may have set up for us in there.”
“Sounds like a powerful tool. Why haven’t you brought this up before now? I’m sure the army could make use of such a thing.” Hargon asked.
“Well, as it is now, it is only effective as a surprise tactic, and even then, it loses potency when used outside. As I've said, it’s not a perfect recreation, but it can be effective in this instance.”
“Alright, so we bust down the door, and you use that crystal of yours to foil their trap. Sounds simple enough, but how do you want us to handle them if we do encounter resistance?”
I could infer what he was asking easily enough. He wanted to know whether we would be killing everyone we saw or not. Part of me wanted to give no quarter to the bastards, kick them while they’re down and then slit their throats, but I knew that was a path that only got darker the further one walked it. So, instead, I took the cold professional approach.
“First and foremost, we are to minimize the risk to ourselves, so if you cannot guarantee that you can subdue an opponent safely, don’t risk it. Go for the kill. I’m not losing any more friends today.” There were some somber nods that went around the group as everyone agreed with the approach.
We did last-minute checks on our equipment, Jorn swapping his prosthetic for the mace variant while we prepared some rope we brought with us in case we managed to catch a few of them. Forming an initial plan for breaching, we approached the building as quickly and quietly as possible, making sure that there was no one on the streets that could see us at the moment. Our approach did not trigger a reaction from anyone, so we continued as planned.
I discreetly peaked between the shutters of one of the windows to see if there was any sign of our enemies. It was extremely dim inside the building, almost impossible to make out anything but vague shapes from outside. This would be a good position for an ambush from our kidnappers as entering would leave us temporarily blinded due to the differences in light. However, that worked both ways in this instance.
With a nod to let everyone know we were continuing, we stacked up on the door. Hargon would be in charge of kicking it in, but the last one to enter as his large body would just get in the way. I would be first after releasing the crystal into the interior of this rat nest. Despite that being the opposite of what normally occurs in this sort of guard and VIP situation, my pseudo-immortality gave me the ability to shut down any objections to me being the first inside.
I gripped one of the crystals in my hand tightly as I started the magical sequence. The shimmering rainbow of light inside started to move, condensing itself, compacting until it was all contained inside a bright white pinprick of a light that was so intense as to leave splotches on your vision if you stared for too long. It was ready, and I gave a nod to Hargon who returned it to me before taking a step back from the door and readying himself.
With a slight rocking motion to build momentum, he took a step forward and landed a kick squarely on the door. The resulting damage saw the door completely fly off its hinges and crash on the floor with a bang. Hargon quickly stepped out of the way as I tossed the crystal as deep into the room as I could manage.
Everyone averted their eyes as I told them, and a second later, three bright rapid flashes illuminated the inside of the building with stark white light. There were a few cries of alarm inside, revealing that there were people in there, and that my crystal had worked as intended. To call it a flashbang would be disingenuous as there was no ‘bang’ to it at the moment. I had yet to figure out how to create such an explosive sound without actually exploding the crystal, which would make it more of a grenade than anything else at that point. So, flash crystal was the working name I had for my little project, but that didn’t matter so much as I was more focused on charging into the building and getting a read on the situation.
Sword at the ready, I scanned the room as my eyes started to adjust to the dim light. There were four stumbling forms that appeared to be our targets judging by the weapons that were being brandished blindly about the room. Three Ulgor and one Trelnval by the shape of their bodies.
They were cursing and flailing about, trying to figure out what happened. We weren’t going to give them the chance to. Seizing the opportunity, we rushed them, performing a variety of disarming techniques. I seized the wrist of the nearest hostile and then drove the cross guard of my sword into their face. The pain was enough for their focus to falter, allowing me to twist their wrist and cause the weapon to drop out of their hands before I drove them to the floor. It required a lot of effort to keep the Ulgor pinned, and even from an advantageous position, it was a struggle.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
I barely had time to glance up to see the progress of the rest of my team. Jorn and Otar had both subdued an Ulgor and Trelnval each, managing to keep them under control while Ulthises had the last one in his coils. It was interesting to see the more serpentine aspects of his biology come into play.
Hargon was bringing up the rear, bending down to fit his over seven-foot body into the house. After checking to make sure that we weren’t immediately going to be attacked again, he began to assist in tying up our struggling victims. In just a few minutes we had several hogtied individuals on the floor. They certainly weren’t happy about it, but we took the initiative and gagged them as well. They’d be blind and mute for a while as we cleaned up around here.
The first floor was cleared, not much other than some old furniture and dust. We moved on to the stairwell and cautiously climbed the steps. It was quiet, eerily so. The tension in the air was ready to snap at a moment’s notice. Then, it did, with a loud twang as I crested the top of the stairs.
A bolt flew right past my head from the other end of the hallway, close enough that I could feel the wind being disturbed by its passage. I dropped low as a reaction, which saved me from the follow-up shot as another crossbow was fired at where I had been standing a moment earlier. We bade a hasty retreat down the stairs, not wanting to test if they had more ranged weapons.
“Well, shit. Anyone have any ideas? I’d prefer not being a meat shield if we can avoid it.”
A quick brainstorm session later and Otar snapped his head up. “Oh, I got something. Give me a moment.” He rushed into a deeper part of the first floor, in the direction of the kitchen if I recalled the layout correctly. There was a lot of banging and crashing noises for a minute before he reemerged carrying an entire table with him.
At first, I was a bit flabbergasted as he maneuvered the large piece of furniture through doorways and around obstacles, but then I realized what he was planning. The wood used in its construction was thick and dense, more than enough to stop a bolt. We moved out of his way as he started to ascend the stairs again, table held in front as a shield.
There were two more distinct twang sounds followed quickly by impacts as the bolts sunk deep into the table, but not penetrating it. There was a curse spat from down the hall as the sound of two doors closing met my ears. I peeked around Otar’s side and didn’t see anyone at the end of the hall, meaning they retreated into the rooms, probably trying to set up another ambush of some kind.
Otar ended up dropping the table after we made sure that they weren’t going to pop out again. There were two rooms on either side of the hall, and it was clear that the remnants of the group had split up into either one. I had to decide between conserving the flash crystals or using them to clear both rooms. We didn’t know how many were left, and we would probably have to take both rooms at the same time to prevent us from getting attacked from behind.
I handed a crystal to Ulthises and pointed at the door on the right. He nodded in understanding as he and Hargon moved into position. The brotherly duo followed me to the door on the left as we all got prepared for a synchronized breach.
The doors didn’t appear to have any locks, so there was no need to break them down. With a silent countdown, we both opened the doors just enough to allow us to toss the flash crystals inside before closing them again. We waited for the three flashes that were visible from the gap under the door before opening it all the way.
There were four individuals in this room, all of them Ulgor. They appeared to have learned the dangers of the flash crystals after my first use of it as they evidently had shielded their eyes from the resulting brightness. However, there was still an effect on them as even though they were brandishing short blades and clubs accurately this time, I could see them squint and blink rapidly. Even if they only had spots in their vision, that was still an advantage we had to act on before it faded.
We were slightly outnumbered, and they weren’t nearly as debilitated as the first group, so that meant there was no room for mercy. I didn’t like killing, but if it came down to a choice between them and my friends, my friends won that argument hands down. Plus, I'd make an exception for this particular group of wasted flesh.
I moved to engage the closest target to me. The large man was certainly intimidating, but I wasn’t in the mood for a fair fight. My opening move was a lunging thrust towards his face, something to draw his attention to my blade as the move itself was mostly a feint. He moved his body while sweeping his sword defensively in front of him. Normally the deflection would mean I would have to back up and try again, but this time I kept pushing forwards, taking another step before bringing my knee up and into his groin, landing a solid hit.
He buckled slightly; the blow definitely felt all throughout his body. He tried to create space with a swing of his own, aiming to chop me at about my neck. I ducked under the blade before rising once again with a left hook straight to the jaw with everything that I had. His already unsteady stance became almost drunken in comparison.
Looking to finish this, I switched my grip to a half-sword style before angling another thrust towards his throat. The sudden change in combat distance, as well as his undoubtedly blurry vision, prevented him from mounting an effective defense. The result was that I impaled his throat before quickly ripping it out sideways. The soft splatter of blood on the floor was quickly followed by the crash of his body as he fell to the floor and started bleeding out. A part of me felt vindicated, like I had found some form of justice in the act of spilling their blood. The catharsis was quickly squashed as I turned my attention to the rest of the fight that was happening in the room.
Otar was in a duel while Jorn was trying to fend off a pair. The bastards probably saw his prosthetic as a weakness and tried to gang up on him. I immediately rushed to his aid, approaching from the blind spot of one of his opponents.
The merc took a swing with his mace at Jorn, putting most of his weight on the right leg. I took the opportunity to slash him across the back of that weight bearing limb. He cried out in shock and pain as he was forced to drop down to a knee. Jorn saw the opening and jabbed the orb like mace on his prosthetic into their face in a brutal punching motion. I swear I saw teeth flying into the gloom of the room as the merc was knocked out cold.
Now the situation was reversed as we turned the table on the remaining opponent. The fight was over quickly as we overwhelmed his defenses and Jorn ended it with a body shot before cracking him upside the head with the mace. He may or may not survive such a blow, but only time would tell that, and I wouldn’t be crying over him either way.
We both turned to assist Otar, but found that he had finished up his duel, though in a decidedly less lethal way. There appeared to be a large cut made in the forearm of his opponent that evidently severed something vital to the function of his limb as his hand was looking rather limp. The merc surrendered, and we tied him up with what little rope we had remaining. All told the whole fight lasted maybe a minute.
Jorn had a bunch of bleeding cuts on him, making me concerned. “You alright there?”
He shifted his body a little in an experimental fashion. “Nothing serious. Slap a few bandages on and all I'll have is a few scars and another good story to tell.”
I nodded with some relief before casting a glance around the room. Kala wasn’t here, and I could only hope that she was with Hargon and Ulthises in the other room right now. After securing the mercs, we moved across the hall to see how the other two were doing.
It appeared that each of them had an opponent to themselves, and one met an untimely end while the other was currently squirming on the ground in binds. Ulthises looked fine, but Hargon had a bit of matted and darkened fur on his arm, betraying the fact that he had evidently been cut or stabbed there. He was grumbling to himself while tightening the restraints of the merc on the floor.
“I hate fighting indoors. Can't move fucking anywhere, constantly hunched over, assholes stabbing me in the arm.” He wasn’t in a good mood, but I wouldn’t be either if I was in a cramped space and got stabbed. His quiet tirade of complaints only stopped once he noticed me in the room.
Nothing was said as my eyes scanned the room expectingly. Other than these four, there was no one else. I looked at Hargon, and he knew what was on my mind and simply shook his head. Kala wasn’t here.
Frustration was putting it mildly. I ended up punching the wall and leaving a dent in it just to vent a little of what was building inside of me. The dull ache in my fist helped focus my thoughts long enough for me to give some orders. “Drag these sorry sacks downstairs and throw them on the pile. It’s time we had a word with a few of them.”
The ones that survived the fighting were dragged, quite roughly, down the stairs and tossed next to their companions who had since regained most of their sight. I decided to start with the now unblinded ones as they were currently the most lucid.
Removing the gag from one of the Ulgor who was lying tied up on his belly, I fixed him with a glare which he matched with one of his own. “Where is Kala?”
He mockingly quirked a brow at me. “Sorry, can nay recall anyone by that name.”
I kicked him in the nose, thoroughly breaking it as he grunted in pain before grabbing him by the hair. “Trelnval, woman, green scales! Where the fuck did you take her!”
A condescending chuckle escaped him. “Oh yeah, I recall someone like that. Heard she was yer little fuck toy or something like that. Well, sorry mate, can’t seem to remember the last place I saw her.”
“I suggest you remember, and quickly.”
“Or you’ll what? Talk me to death? You fancy clothes wearing arses can’t even intimidate a bird.”
His smirk was sickening, so I decided to do something about it. Moving behind him, I grabbed the bindings around his wrists, pulled them closer to me, seized his pointer finger, and broke it sideways. This succeeded in making him growl with pain as his teeth gnashed together.
“That jog your memory?”
Instead of insults or threats from him, he started to chuckle, and then laugh. It wasn’t long before he explained what he found so humorous. “Really? Breakin’ fingers? You really are an unimaginative fellow. What, you read that in a book and thought it was a good way to get someone to talk to you?”
He continued to laugh at me, thinking he could just tough out whatever I threw at him. Since he so arrogantly refused my offered mercy in this situation, it was time to take a more drastic measure. I moved back in front of him and took a knee so he could see my face better. His laughter slowly came to a stop as he saw my cold emotionless expression, though he still smirked at me.
“It’s not that I'm unimaginative, it’s more like I'm far more merciful towards you than I have any right to be. But fine, I'll show you what it’s like when I get creative.”
With measured movements I placed a hand on the back of his neck. It was quite surprising how little energy it took to do this, but a few nerves pinched here, a severed connection there, and his lower body slumped into a lifeless heap, leaving only his head to show that he was still alive. Panic immediately washed over his features as he was probably trying to move something and could not manage it.
“Wh-what did you do! I can’t feel my body!”
“And you never will again if I have anything to say about it. So, this is my new offer. Either you tell me where you're hiding Kala, or I'm going to leave you like this for the rest of your miserable life. You will be able to do nothing but sit in a chair or lay in a bed, immobile and trapped in your own body, unable to even feed yourself or have control of your bowels. You will wallow in your own piss and shit until someone can be bothered to clean you if they even feel like it. Your body will waste away day after day as your muscles deteriorate from disuse until there is only a ghost of your former self in the mirror. This will be your existence until the day you die, I swear it.”
Pure horror crossed his face as the thought of that fate threw him into an existential crisis. He was feeling a lot more cooperative now. “O-okay, I’ll talk, just fix me!”
“Where, is, she?” I growled out each word individually.
“S-s-she's in the mill, they’re keeping her in the mill, now please!”
The mill, right next door. Fuck, we wasted so much time on these assholes and she was that close? I stood up and gave a hand signal for everyone to follow me out. The one who I was interrogating looked at me with growing panic.
“Wait! You said you’d fix me!”
“I’ll do it when I get back. Oh, and if you're lying to me about this, I'll just move on to the next member of your group and forget you even exist.” He could do nothing but whimper on the floor as we filed out of the house one by one.
Once everyone was outside, we set our sights on the sawmill. Hargon stepped up beside me, looking at our destination before making a comment. “Remind me never to piss you off.” That managed to get a little huff of amusement out of me before he continued. “We’re out of rope, we won’t be able to tie anyone up if we’re forced to subdue them.”
“Good,” I stated darkly. “Because if there is so much as a scuffed scale on her body you have permission to kill everyone in that building.”
“Calm minds win wars, James.” Hargon tried some sagely advice.
“I am calm. I’m just waiting for the right moment not to be.” Hargon looked unsure about my words but chose not to pursue the conversation further.
That house drained our resources, but now we were closer to Kala for it. We needed to look for a good entrance to the mill, one that wasn’t likely to be trapped or have an ambush waiting for us like in the house. We’re almost there. Just a little longer.