I watched from the Castle’s rooftop as Carmella smacked Thread across the face for the third time that evening, eliciting a grunt as he finally stirred. They’d knocked him out to stop his descent into madness, but in order to question him they kinda needed him awake. Not the most well thought out strategy, but they’re making it work. Now, however, it’s time to see if Carmella’s gotten any better at interrogations.
He glared up at Carmella, now visible in the magic light she’d created, and spit onto the cobbled street. “You’ll get nothing from me.” Then he shifted, testing the grip of the knights restraining him, and the strength of the shackles placed on his wrists and ankles.
Thankfully, it looked like he’d judged he couldn’t escape since he tried nothing further and just slumped in their grasp, but Carmella took it in stride, smiled broadly, and leaned forward to look him in the face. “Oh? But that’s quite alright, Mr. Wilious Gaff, we know all about you and Marquis Palaeshek.”
Thread paled, but showed no further response, while I blinked in surprise. Wait. Haven’t I seen this tactic somewhere before?
Her smirk grew as she counted out on her fingers. “Isn’t that right mister master of disguise? You weigh 148 lbs, are about 5’8”, and I’m honestly shocked that you still think you can escape.”
Whoa! Hold up! She can read their height and weight with her ability? Why can’t I do that? Isn’t Uriel higher level?
The system whispered.
Ohhh. That makes more sense! I stood and clapped. Well done Carmella! Way to grow from your roughshod methods.
The bound assassin stopped looking around for a way out, and turned to face her so slowly I could almost hear his neck creak! “What games are you playing? You made all that up! Guesses! Nothing more! You’re–”
She hushed him with a finger, then crouched to eye level. “Guesses? How can they be guesses when they’re so clearly written on your soul?”
I halted my hands, and facepalmed. Seriously?! Here I thought she’d learned something, but all she’s really doing is copying me when I questioned that Sorren dude!
Then the system prodded.
“Huh. I guess so.” Then I plopped back down and crossed my arms and legs. “But will it have the desired effect?”
Thread couldn’t contain the shiver that coursed through him. “S–soul? My Soul? You can see my soul? But there’s no record of you being an observer?”
Carmella moved her hand up to his cheek, grabbed the baggy cheeks of Thread’s mask, and tore off the false face to reveal his own more frightened one. “I wasn’t, but because you lot continued chasing after my Lord’s life our benefactor saw fit to grant my eyes greater sight.” She leaned in again, and lowered her voice. “You remember the fight in the square? How I suddenly found you in spite of your disguise? That was me testing out my new ability. An ability given right around the time the four of you escaped Ariadholme and came here.”
His jaw slowly dropped while she explained, and then he turned his gaze skyward. “All along. We were lost from the very start. That Anon creature that hunted us knew. We never stood a chance.”
Well, I don’t know about never. If I wasn’t around or didn’t come back, they definitely would have succeeded, sooo better luck next time!
“It was all according to their plan. Just as always.” She moved to whisper something in his ear, and for some reason he teared up and started bawling.
He wailed, “God?! God?!” then flopped to the ground as the knights readjusted their grip on the man who no longer had any will to fight.
Carmella frowned, and clicked her tongue. “Before you dive off the deep end, I need to know where your base is. Where the other assassins are. Tell us, and I’ll see to it that your punishment is swift.”
He writhed like a worm on the ground, rubbing his face against the cold and dirty cobbles in some insane desire to vent his frustration. “The woods! We’re in the woods! I don’t know where the others are, only master Soaria knows that! God!? It was all for nothing! Now I understand why Whisper didn’t want to leave! He knew! He knew and didn’t tell us! Curse you for letting us walk into this!”
Carmella cringed at his sorry display, and muttered. “You heard all that right?”
And I reached out through the telepathic network. ~I did, and good work! You’ve gotten better at interrogations, but I already knew where they were. Silvia’s taking care of it.~
I turned my attention away from them as the self-loathing and curse spewing assassin’s tantrum was getting to be a little too much to bear, and flew off on shape shifted wings in the direction Silvia went. I wonder if she’s captured them yet? I really hope they’re still in one piece.
#
Carmella shuddered in giddy glee. I knew it! I knew Anon would know! They have to! The Creator God knows everything! And they’re here with us! This is why Calden has been so fervent! How could he not when the Creator bestowed a revelation in person!
#
Shade lurked in the depths of darkness. It took a good chunk of his lifeforce to get him here, but thanks to the item that that Ascendant Benedict gave him, he was able to reach this new height of power and use his shadow walk ability to delve into the undetectable depths of the abyss--even if only for a little while.
It’s cost me much, and I likely won’t be able to escape unscathed, but I refuse to die a failure! I will wipe away this twice over disgrace with blood!
A feeling of omnipotence filled him as from his safe position in the heart of gloom he could see and move through the shadows of the entire city, and though he couldn’t take in everything all at once, he was still able to locate his target far faster than Thread could complete his reconnaissance.
He squeezed the handle of his dagger tight, and curled his lips into a ferocious smile as he watched the small frame of Calden Dresdeth sleep soundly through the veil of his lavish bed. Even with all their defenses, I could take him within moments! Even with all those guards, not one would be any wiser! Thread was told he’d be giving me the go ahead, but Master sent him as bait.
He glanced over at a different shadow and snorted as he watched Thread struggle against the knights restraining him. The mage, knights, and both heirs are away. He glanced at another. The Count is in his office battling paperwork, and with no trace of that so-called deity, that means you are wide open, Calden!
Shade crept through the dark doorway his augmented powers created and into the darkest corner of Calden’s mostly moonlit room. He felt the trinket granted to him flare up, as it leached out his vitality. He snarled at the unpleasant sensation. It felt like he was getting blood drawn through his hip, his bones creaked as they lost density, and his skin pulled tight and wrinkled from the loss of life.
It ended as suddenly as it started, mere seconds in all, but the now borderline elderly Shade still felt his vision swim. That… That took more than I expected. I doubt I’ll be able to escape at all now! He rolled his now stiff shoulders, and fixed his tired and blurry sights on his helpless target. But you. I’ll be taking you with me!
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The curtains of Calden’s canopied bed still hid him from direct line of sight, and the aged Shade silently cursed the moonlight that had prevented him from appearing any closer. It doesn’t matter. My legs might wobble, hy hands might shake, but I haven’t lost my edge. Just take your time, and keep quiet. You still have time. This is your hour.
Skilled and silent footfalls brought the now fatigued Shade to the edge of the bed, and he reached out with a trembling hand to rip the curtain away, as he did the doorknob quietly turned, the door opened, and the fearsome eye of an angry tiger peered through.
#
Silvia blew out her gathered breath in a huff, and pouted. Master Boss would listen. Master Boss would want Siliva to listen too.
“Speak. Silvia is listening.”
Soaria let her outstretched arms fall limply to her sides, before she clutched at her heaving chest to control her breathing. “Th–thank you.”
She took a few moments to gather herself, so Silvia stomped impatiently, causing a small tremor to rock the clearing and shake a few leaves from the nearby trees. “Hurry up! Silvia said Silvia is listening!”
Soaria straightened up, and held out an empty hand defensively while taking a step back. “Wait! I’m sorry! This is all a misunderstanding! We never meant to offend you or your master or boss! We were hired to do a job and that was it. We never wanted to fight you!”
Silvia tilted her head to one side, then the other. “Bad? Understanding?” Then she dropped Veil, and extended her nails into long, cruel, talons. “But Master Boss told Silvia to find forest humans because the forest humans upset Master Boss! So bad understanding isn’t important. Only hunting. Only punishment!”
#
Every ounce of focus, every bit of instinct, and every second of training Soaria had, went into dodging the savage talon that appeared before her face in that following instant. It was all she could do to drop to her knees and roll under Silvia’s arm.
As the immediate danger passed, a moment’s clarity prompted her to take a swipe at the girl’s scaled calf with her favored dagger–only to feel it glance off.
The rush of air that suddenly followed in that next second threw Soaria away and she managed to tumble through the air and land back onto her feet only for an ear piercing shriek to send her reeling.
Reflex demanded that she cover her now bleeding ears, but she refused, fighting through the agony and disorientation to fling a poison gas bomb at Silvia.
It sailed swift and true, but the girl’s massive wing just brushed it away like so much dust, where it exploded harmlessly behind her.
Soaria grit her teeth even harder and tasted blood–evidently she’d cracked a tooth in the process of resisting the scream, but she didn’t have time to care. I knew I couldn’t fight a deity, but this isn’t the one I prepared for! I have leverage against the one named Anon, but this Silvia is too dense to negotiate with!
She spun away from another sudden rush–one that to even her keen eyes was akin to teleportation–before being surprised by a flurry of attacks.
She bobbed and twirled as best as her training allowed, but after only a few quick exchanges Silvia caught her by the throat.
“Fun!” The girl chirped, lifting her effortlessly off the ground like a child would their favorite toy. “More fun than the other! Real hunt! Real prey! Master Boss is the best!” then her head spun to face backwards. “Oh! Master Boss is coming this way!”
Soaria choked, and clutched at Silvia’s oversized hand that completely enveloped her neck. With the monster’s attention elsewhere, she tried to stab it a few times but the scales once again proved too hard. How did she just stop like that? And where did the rush of wind go? I was counting on using it to create more distance. She dropped her knife to free her other hand, as she now needed it to help support her weight and buy enough leeway to keep breathing. But if her master is Anon, then I just need to hold out until they arrive. Then my leverage will work! And this wretched girl will be brought to heel! I just… need to hold on.
Soaria fought for each breath, doing her best to expand her senses even as fatigue and asphyxiation dulled them. She longed to use her amulet to escape from Silvia, but the fear of immediate recapture and being subsequently crippled by the childish girl deterred her.
Besides, after enduring this humiliation, I’m going to enjoy crushing their feeling of superiority now that they think they’ve won.
Another minute passed and as her world darkened around her, she began to fear Anon would never come. But the arrival happened silently, without any flashy effects or crashing trees. There was no great rush of wind, or an overpowering wave of mana, compared to this typhoon of a girl, Anon was like a ghost, emerging as if they’d always been there and she simply hadn’t noticed.
The visage of the deity she’d awaited was nothing special either. She expected a great and terrible monster–that was the norm, but like Silvia, they were very humanoid in form and even wore actual clothing–not that any of it was regal or finely crafted.
On top of that, they slouched, so their height was ambiguous, their weight too, given how baggy their clothes were. Gender and race were equally undeterminable beneath the deep hood that let only the tiniest hint of a chin escape, but when they spoke, Soaria’s blood froze.
The voice was cold, composed, and stern, deep as the ocean, and as gritty as the desert she last heard it in. “Let her go, Silvia. She can’t breathe like that.”
The silver girl chirped and happily dropped the master assassin onto the ground, before taking up a servile position behind, and to the right side of the new arrival.
Pain from the fall spurred her to gasp, and fresh air flooded Soaria’s burning lungs. She coughed as cold sweat mixed in with the warmer drops shed during the fight. Her vision slowly cleared, and from her new vantage, and with the power of her night vision ability, she looked up at Anon–and saw the sour face of her hook-nosed master staring back.
Her eyes widened. “No! No you can’t be here! You can't have become so powerful! I killed you! I–”
Her master’s face warped into an uncharacteristically concerned frown, and the hooded figure crouched to meet her at eye level. The voice remained as the one she knew, but there was more life to it, more compassion than she ever experienced from him before. “Are you okay? I know Silvia knocked you around a bit, but I don't think I’ve ever had someone react to me like that before.”
Anon waited in silence, and the longer she stared the more the face of her fears changed. One by one, the visages of her every victim surfaced in order of their deaths, each silently questioning her with those cruelly kind eyes before the parade started over.
H–how? How do they know!? How are they doing this! And why? Are they mocking me? Trying to break me? Like Whisper? Well it won’t work! I will not yield!
She clutched the hilt of her dropped dagger tight, and spit. “I don’t know what you’re playing at, but your staff for the boy’s life. That’s the deal.”
The march of faces accelerated as confusion, and then amusement played over their cyclical countenances. And when Anon spoke, this time all their voices echoed back. “What? You don’t even have it, so how are you planning to return it?”
She snarled. “It’s in the hands of the Ascendants. Benedict Andrun! I believe you’ve met? If I give the signal he’ll–”
“Shh.” Anon shook their head slowly, and smiled. “I know what you’ve got planned. You can’t hide your thoughts from me, and you should know that your little gambit was never going to pay off. You should’ve just run away.”
“Aaahhh!” Soaria shouted, swung her knife at Anon’s throat and raised the other hand skyward before pulling the cord that launched the flare from her bracer with her teeth.
A red flash filled the clearing as the blade impacted, but instead of flesh, it once again met Silvia’s scaled talons, and instead of a signal that soared high into the night, the blinding light went out, consumed by Anon’s outstretched hand–now glowing with a warm internal light.
#
I took the pleasantly warm flare I held in my right hand and snuffed it out by rubbing it into the dirt. “Now what am I going to do with you Soaria an’Selm?”
It was good that Silvia repelled the dagger aimed at my throat, but I could’ve done without her crushing both the blade and the hand holding it in the process.
To my amazement, the assassin didn’t scream, but since I’d used Unite Will on her, I knew first hand how much pain she was in right now, and just how traumatized she’d been by meeting me. I mean, I get that she’s a cold blooded killer, but that dirtbag of a master of her’s really bent her out of shape. Couple seeing him again on top of all the people she’s killed through my fickle face and I pretty much gave her the worst scare of her life without even realizing… So what do I do? Throw her in the Count’s dungeon? Finish her off? I can’t let her go, and from what I’m seeing she isn’t willing to repent, so I guess my only other option would be to force reform onto her with hypnosis, but that doesn’t exactly feel right either.
#
A few miles off one of Benedict Andrun’s subordinates rushed down into the cellar to report. “Sir! We’ve detected powerful mana fluctuations in the forest where Marquis Palaeshek’s assassins are based!”
Benedict smirked, and pushed up his glasses. “Then it’s time.”
“But sir! We haven’t sighted the signal yet.”
He turned, withdrew a blackened shard of a metallic looking substance from his pocket and strode toward Witness. “That doesn’t matter. The deity is distracted so they are the most vulnerable now. The assassins won’t fare any better than we did, but thanks to them, we’ve been given the upper hand! It’s time for Anon to suffer the same fate as Matweirden!”