After freeing all the slaves, which consisted of both adults and children of all races except humans, they sent them off to the village of Talim.
“Where are all these people going to sleep?” the young witch asked. “What will they eat? And how will they get home?”
“That's up to them now,” her accomplice shrugged. “We've done our part in freeing them. Now they should do theirs and take care of themselves.”
“But some of them are children!” Velvet exclaimed. “Shouldn't we help them get home?”
“I did that for a time,” he said. “It's too risky, though. I nearly got caught a couple of times because they slowed me down or just didn't know how to be quiet. I can't be putting my life on the line any more than this. I give them freedom. Then they should do something with it.”
“But some of them are children!” she reiterated.
“So what? There are adults of their race with them. They might not know each other, but they can help each other. Look. If you want to guide every single one of those kids around this entire godforsaken land to find their mommy and daddy, you can be my guest. But I don't have time for that. There are more people who need to be freed. More scum to be killed.”
“So you just let them loose and then move on to the next caravan?!” Velvet was appalled.
The man shrugged. “Yes. Pretty much. I do my part. They do theirs. Easy as that.”
“Well, I don't think it's right to just leave them to fend for themselves like this!”
He was already not listening to her anymore. Pulling out a strange rock, he walked up to one of the mage's bodies and extended his hand towards it, muttering something. The mark on the dead man's hand lit up and magic started flowing out of him and into the rock the hooded jakkal was holding.
“Woah!” Velvet went from appalled to fascinated in a matter of seconds. “What's that?!”
“This,” he said, “is where we part ways. Thank you for your assistance.”
“Wait, you can't leave without explaining things to me!” she protested. “Tell me what you are doing to this man! What is this strange rock you have?!”
“You really want to know?” he tilted his hand and looked towards her, while the magic was still flowing from the man into the rock. “If I tell you I will have to kill you afterwards.”
The curious girl laughed. “You're a funny guy! Just tell me already!”
“Alright,” he shrugged. The stream of magic was now getting thinner and soon it was no more. The rock now glowed with bright red color, corresponding to the fire magic stored within.
“This is called magic harvesting,” he explained, walking over to the corpse of the next sorcerer. “These rocks are special crystals that can absorb and store magic. What you just saw was me taking the magic from this man's dead body. You can only do this just after a person has died or if they are severely wounded or weakened. We killed these men just a few minutes ago, so their magic is still fresh and ready to be harvested!”
With that, he started doing the same thing with the other sorcerer and a new stone. Velvet watched with wonder and excitement as the crystal got filled up and the mark on the man's hand disappeared, only leaving behind a discoloring of the exact same shape.
“Can I try?” she asked out of the blue, making the man look up at her again.
“You want to try?”
“Yes! I've never seen something like this. Or even read about it in any books. It's interesting!”
He chuckled. “Alright. But wait for your turn.”
“Sure!” the girl exclaimed happily and plopped herself down on the edge of a cart while he finished sucking the magic out of the remaining two corpses.
“All done,” he said when he finished, storing the filled crystals in his pocket and walking over to her. Velvet jumped down from the cart. “My turn! My turn!”
“Yes,” he grinned and he flicked his fingers. “Your turn. Dark Binding.”
Dark tendrils sprung up from beneath Velvet’s feet and wrapped themselves around her, tying her arms and legs together tightly, rendering her immobile. She tried to wiggle herself free, but to no avail. “Hey! What's the meaning of this?! Undo the spell this instant!”
“But you said you wanted to try?” he spoke with a mockingly playful tone. “So we're trying it out on you. Taking your magic, that is.”
Only now did the girl realize the situation she was in and her eyes went wide. “No! Let me go! I want to keep my magic! I will beat you up! Blinding Light!” She cast the spell, but it was absorbed by the darkness binding her immediately. “Oh no…darkness counters light and vice-versa! I shouldn't have let my guard down!”
“Indeed, you shouldn't have,” the man spoke with an ominously cold voice, emanating a murderous aura as he walked up to the bound girl and cupped her cheek. “Such a pretty face you have. I almost feel sorry for what I am about to do to you. Almost.”
“You're not a good person after all!” Velvet yelled back at him and tried to bite his fingers. He quickly retracted his hand, however.
“You're a feisty one!” he laughed, his barred fangs shining back from underneath his hood along with a pair of yellow eyes. “Well, you won't be anymore when I am done with you.”
With that, he pulled out a sharp knife, still a bit bloody from the last neck it slit, and waved it in front of her face, the blade shining in the flickering light of the torches that the guards dropped to the floor. Velvet swallowed. “Please…I helped you! Why are you doing this?!”
“I'm sorry. This was not my initial intention. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that a tier two sorceress is not something you come across every day. Not harvesting your magic would be a waste. But don't worry. As a thank you for helping me, I will let you live. To extract your magic you need to be either dead or close to dying, though. So let's get to work, shall we? I don't want you to scream while I cut you, so…”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Wait! Don't…mmh! Hmmm! HMMMHH!”
Flicking his fingers again, the dark tendrils covered Velvet’s mouth, only allowing muffled noises to come out from beneath them. “Much better, don't you think?”
Velvet's thoughts were racing now as she stared back at the man who was about to plunge his knife into her flesh. Her eyes darted left and right in panic, frantically searching for something or someone that could get her out of this predicament. She wriggled in place, trying to get her arms and legs free, but wasn't allowed any leeway. Was this really it for her?
“Arianna…you were right all along. I should have just gone home. You always said one of these days my recklessness will cost me dearly. Oh, how I wish you were here now…” Velvet closed her eyes, quietly awaiting her demise when she heard a voice shouting loudly.
“Stop! Stop you absolute buffoon!!” it yelled and she opened her eyes again to see a tall figure running up to them.
The Night Crawler, as he called himself, seemed to know this person. “What in the world are you doing here?!” he asked, lowering his knife and turning around.
“Father sent me to follow you in case you do something stupid,” the tall man spoke with a deep and condescending voice. “And what do I find you doing? Something stupid!”
“Father sent you after me?” he cocked his eyebrow, still holding the knife at the ready.
“It's good he did too, I see,” the other figure nodded. Taking a better look at him, Velvet realized he was wearing a mask just like the person trying to kill her, concealing his face. He had no hood, however, and a pair of sharp horns were clearly visible on his head. A dracon.
“What are you talking about?” the jakkal growled. “I am doing what I always do——killing slave hunters, freeing slaves, and collecting magic from sorcerers I slay.” He pulled out the three filled crystals from his pocket as proof. “See?”
“That is not the problem,” the dracon shook his head and pointed at the bound Velvet who could do nothing but stare at them with wide eyes. She dared not speak a word, not that she even could. “That is a problem. You can't kill this girl and take her magic.”
“Why not?” he seemed puzzled. “She's a tier two. I thought your father would be pleased…”
“Father will kill you if you lay a hand on her! He needs this girl alive. So he says.”
“Why does he need her specifically?” the Night Crawler asked. “Is she special in some way?”
“Now you're asking too many questions…” the other man said, placing a hand on his shoulder as a warning. The dracon was at least a head taller than the jakkal and made him look puny in comparison. The jakkal read the cue and simply nodded.
“Alright. I get it. She's off-limits. If father says he needs her, then I shall release her.”
“Good,” the tall man lowered his hand and started to walk away. “Come. Let's get out of here before someone sees us.” He glanced left and right over the corpses littered across the ground as he walked. “You made a mess again…”
“What should I do with her then?!” the jakkal yelled after him.
“Knock her out! Release her binds and carry her somewhere safe. I don't care! Just don't leave her lying here in the middle of the street surrounded by corpses. They might think she did this and execute her.”
The jakkal turned around to Velvet, who looked back at him with unflinching eyes. She was scared, but she didn't want to give him the pleasure of showing it. He caressed her brown hair and smelled it, which almost made her puke.
“Velvet Crow. I will remember your name and your scent. I have a feeling our paths will cross again sooner or later. Until then, good night.” He turned his knife around and hit her head with its hilt. The world spun as she fell unconscious.
“Ugh,” she grunted when she awoke and held her head, feeling a lump where she had been hit with the blunt object. The sun blinded her eyes as she opened them. “What…just happened?”
Remembering the events of the previous day, Velvet jumped to her feet and looked around frantically. She was out in the street, behind the Hunter's Guild where they met with the mysterious man, as if nothing happened. On the ground, the pouch with the sum she was originally promised for helping was sitting for her to pick it up, a note attached to it.
Velvet took it and opened the note. It read: “I look forward to working with you again. ~The Night Crawler”
***
…and that's basically what happened! Crazy story, huh? I hope you liked it! I'll write to you again soon! Good luck solving the Magnus mystery!
Love,
Velvet”
4th of Modayn, 54
“Dear Velvet!
WHAT THE FUCK?! You nearly died——again! And you are talking about it like you are telling me a bedtime story! Seriously, I can't…I just can't with you…
But well, to be completely honest, I can't really be angry with you this time around…because I also almost met my end. Namely, I found out what was happening with Magnus. And it got far crazier than I ever thought it would! Let me tell you about it…
Thank you for reading this part of the story! You rule!
[https://img.wattpad.com/3552605bad747d8dbd27563801d0874afbfc6239/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6475574f6472532d77324c6462513d3d2d313238383537343339312e313732396262616265363763386634313237323837393635353138342e706e67]
Did you know? Dracons are the tallest and strongest race in Rumerra. On average they are a head taller than elves, humans, or jakkals.