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Prison, Copper House, Wolfsteeth
After saying goodbye to Helena, the proud fire-djinn, Alexander had much to digest. What was race, and how should he, as someone from Earth and a highly liberal society, react to such illiberal conduct from an ethical and practical perspective?
From an ethical standpoint, he didn't need to, and it even fit. Fortunately, because he was a canine-kin, his stance, and confusion were seen as more normal since his particular kin was far more accepting of others than other races or subraces. Other than that, he was a noble, far above racial boundaries, ruling over everyone equally.
Furthermore, he would also need to tackle it practically if he wanted to mold society to his ideals as closely as possible. In that sense, he would need to do it educationally, and for this, he had an excellent solution: Give it to Anastasia and let her handle it. She had a good idea of how Alexander thought and what he wanted while also knowing the intricacies of all the races and subraces.
All Alexander wanted to do was learn about other races' divine skills, traits, and specific abilities, as this genuinely interested him. Other than that, he didn't care about all the cultures, ethics, and traditions. Those bored him to no end. Was his conduct ignorant? Yes. Did he care? No.
With one task out of the way, he could now concentrate on what was around him, which made him slightly confused. Otto saw this and asked, "Everything okay, Mr. Alexander?"
"Sure..." He looked around as he walked through the prison corridors, "...it's just that I can smell fear."
As Alexander walked through the prison toward where the imprisoned night-elf was, to the left and right were prison cells, with numerous offenders populating them. Only weak iron bars kept them from breaking out, needing only a little energy to destroy them.
This rather lax security did not amuse him, but he didn't need to worry. When they saw him, all the prisoners immediately looked away and tried to hide in some corner as far away as possible.
Otto chuckled, "Don't worry, Mr. Alexander. They can't touch you."
Alexander sighed, overthinking too much, "I can see it."
Those prisoners just wanted to get a fine, leave, and later pay it off. This was the lowest courthouse, and most wanted to avoid getting any attention. As such, seeing a young wolf-kin wearing a copper-colored necktie, which judges wore, meant only one thing, which even the dumbest could conclude. Even if not, nobody wanted to try their luck, whether they were right or wrong.
However, Alexander couldn't look away, as the sight amused him, 'This is basically a festival campsite.'
The cells looked like camps, with extinguished fire spots and dirty cooking utensils lying around them. Cheap, straw-filled mattresses lay all around, with ominous stains. At every corner was a spot, a hole, with much more ominous stains around it. Alexander didn't want to come close to those.
Walking further, sometimes the cells ended as paths opened up, to the left and right, to more private rooms for the more dangerous or prestigious prisoners, who could use their privilege for at least this much.
Otto interrupted his thoughts as he observed everything with interest, making all the prisoners nervous, "Mr. Alexander, do you think you will be fine when we visit the night-elf?"
Alexander raised an eyebrow, confused, "I... will be fine, I guess? Why are you asking?"
Otto became a little tense, "I mean no offense, but weren't those assassins that attacked you of the same race?"
Alexander smiled viciously, emitting killing intent when he remembered the attack, which made even Otto shudder, "Oh, they were..." He glared at the much bigger pig-kin, who flinched slightly, "...I killed four of them, and trust me, I couldn't care less about their race. I wouldn't hesitate if they were any different."
Otto's concern was cute to Alexander, but he had no problem with getting targeted or killing others. He had already popped his cherry on Earth and gone through a mental breakdown, feeling all sorts of emotions. On Orbis, it was even easier with all the skills aiding him.
Alexander's only worry was that he became too cold toward death, seeing it as nothing more than some [Experience] he acquired. For some reason, besides the apparent self-defense, he saw those attackers as not even living beings, making killing it feel more like squashing insects than anything else.
Yet, this wasn't a problem he was ready to fix. It helped him immensely control his mental state, which felt like he was pulled into every possible direction by his former human self, all the different skills, and his new body, trying to dictate the right course of action.
Looking at Otto, who nodded carefully with a slightly frightened smile, it was clear that Alexander needed to dial down his killing intent, making it disperse immediately, "Of course, Mr. Alexander..." Arriving before the door to the cell with the night-elf, he opened it for him, "...shall we?"
It was a single room, the most secure one in the prison inside the Copper House. Usually, such dangerous individuals would need to be sent to other courthouses, which were better equipped to deal with them. Still, because of certain circumstances, Alexander denied a relocation, enacting his noble privilege to hold the elf here.
The night-elf before him sat on the floor, chained to the wall behind her. She wore an advanced anti-energy collar and had cut-off feet and broken arms. It was brutal, and many thought Alexander overreacted because it was his first case.
However, they also assumed he wanted to finish his case by himself without giving it away. It was immature but fitting given his age, nothing unusual, and thus, they all just tolerated it, wanting later to use it as a lesson, letting him know all the unnecessary procedures he did.
However, the situation was far more problematic. Alexander kept certain information to himself, not letting it leak because it could bring chaos into his fief.
Alexander strolled inside, seeing the elf chained to the wall, looking at him, tired, probably not wanting to talk, and readied to receive torture. However, seeing her, he already devised a plan for how to handle her. Still, first, he greeted her, beginning to speak Nocir, a language officially spoken by nature-dwellers and night-elves.
"Hello there, my good friend..." He sounded calm, but the aura he suddenly emitted told another story. His killing intent exploded, with the guards behind him, who were still outside the cell, flinching and panicking, backing unconsciously away. At the same time, all other prisoners backed as far away as possible as the mist of murderous intent slowly dispersed itself into the whole prison, making everyone feel as if they stood before a bloodthirsty beast that looked down at them.
Alexander snapped his fingers, creating a thin vacuum wall between him and Otto and another wall of heat and water to distort him and his lip movements. He did not want to risk anything. No one should hear his following words besides his most loyal retainers and those he could trust.
He walked forward while continuing to speak night-elfish, "You see, you made quite the mistake..." Full of brutality and arrogance, the red mist thickened inside the cell, "...creating a love potion inside my fief is pretty cheeky, don't you think? Copying the First Servants' methods to enslave my kin is never a good choice."
What was a love potion? It was made by humans, dwarves, gnomes, and high-elves, the so-called First Servants, to manipulate Alexander's kin into slavery. It was a secondary way if there was no Church, which could do it without any potions but through ceremonies.
After being given multiple times, his kin would be ready to cut off their tails, ears, and glands, maxing out the alchemical or pharmaceutical properties so others could use it for other products and still serve their enslavers, as long as they received the love potion. Most of the time, though, they received a slave tattoo and were sent to work and die in the mines or brothels.
It was easy to guess that such a thing was highly illegal everywhere in Mal-Gil for historical reasons, even though it could have practical applications. From commoners to nobles and even royalty, nobody wanted to see it used inside their territory, even though it was still common elsewhere.
As such, what would happen if it was discovered inside their territory, and worse, what if it was made there? Theoretically, in Moorgrel, it would bring forward the Count's court and intelligence unit, with them trying their best to find out who made or sold it. They would sniff around, making the local rulers' lives a living Outer Circle.
Was it necessary? Sadly, yes. Rumors spread quickly, even more so if the local ruler or Higher Nobility did nothing. If not reacted quickly and brutally, it would encourage other bad actors to try the same thing. It was an obvious way to deter others from doing the same thing, be it local nobility, the underworld, or just commoners.
The mist thickened as Alexander wanted nothing more than to kill the moron who brought, or worse, made, a love potion inside his territory, "This is really annoying me, and whoever did it needs to feel the Red Moon."
While this situation was somewhat risky, Alexander didn't tell anyone about it except the usuals. A potion made by some foreign races inside a vital territory would become quite problematic if such news came out, with too many people starting to look at his family's territory more closely.
While Alexander loved nothing more than to chat with the retainers of his Master and Mistress, he also worked on too many projects, like public education and charity, which were only known rudimentarily to those outside his territory.
Sure, he would love to show it off, but there were other things he liked to avoid being found out about: the paper and ink he created. For now, he couldn't afford for them to become public. He needed to fund all sorts of projects and show that they would be a worthwhile investment so he wouldn't need those income sources in the future.
Others sniffing around would make them ask many questions, seeing those projects up close, and the first would be how he pays for them. From far away, many thought Alexander got some failing merchants and scribes, paid them peanuts, and let them teach some commoners in some huts.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Even seeing how Anastasia was now unofficially his retainer, basically responsible for education, would make many skeptical. Because of that, he wanted to hold onto the secret of how he made an enormous amount of gold.
Regardless of his monetary situation, another problem was the mana skills he gave out like candy. While still rumors, it was equivalent to saying that Alexander could turn shit into gold. Nobody believed that he could do it.
Their finding out would barely have consequences for Alexander, or rather, he wouldn't care too much. At most, he would be forced by the Count or Countess to give his methods to every noble, which would reduce the future leverage and goodwill he could have by giving them personally, but nothing too tragic.
Furthermore, Alexander felt that there would be no way that the Count would restrict those skills only to nobles, crushing his dream of creating a society of mages. First, getting mana skills was incredibly easy, so he would forcibly spread them either way, creating an unstoppable cycle.
Other than that, the Count and his Knightages were highly arrogant—justly so. They were far stronger and more intelligent than the common populace due to the education and training they received since they were puppies. The resources used on them were insane, and it showed. As such, they would also educate all of them in magic and alchemy while the populace would probably try to establish themselves in other ways.
There would be other minor problems, which he could ignore, like assassination attempts, that could bother his daily life because it was becoming more known that he could create mages like that. Still, with Lili around, they would need to send an army to kill him.
Fortunately, Quill gave him this information in private, as a coded letter. Nobody needed to know this, even less Otto, who was still bound by a mana contract toward his duties. Afterward, when he would maybe become a retainer, sure, but now, it was dangerous to reveal it before knowing more.
Other than that, Lili couldn't care less. She reported to his Grandmother, who would probably tell him to kill the night-elf and, before that, torture her to spit out all other names and then kill them—additional points for their family and friends. For now, his invisible guard was on his side.
Usually, he would need to report it immediately to his Master or Mistress, the Count or Countess, who would investigate it, ignoring their local procedures and probably unearthing all the secrets he wanted to keep as such. However, Alexander wouldn't do it that way. Even thinking that they would stick their fingers into his future fief made him furious.
While thinking about how others would start sniffing around, his aura became so severe that it forced Otto to shield himself with energy, 'Okay, let's try and trick her.'
Standing before the night-elf and seeing the panic in her eyes, like the fate she resigned to, probably thinking that he would torture her.
Yet, he had another plan. Alexander calmed down, dispersing his aura since he needed to think now more tactically than anything else. Torturing someone professional might not bring out the information he needed and less just by rewarding her. He needed a carrot and a stick, which slowly came to him as he looked at the subconsciously shivering elf before him.
It was serious. Alexander needed to know if this was just some poor pharmacist being forced to make the love potion because they had a disease and, thus, debt, someone trying to flood the market, or something else entirely, like some household trying to bring his family in trouble.
However, his plan was quite childish and also based on rumors and gossip about him being a mage and mages in general. Since they were relatively rare, creating the worst kind of gossip about him was easy, and he would use it now to his advantage.
Alexander's smile became pure evil as he used all his acting and deceiving skills, squatting one meter (~3.2ft) before the elf and starting his Wolfywood career, he thought nervously.
"Let me introduce myself, even though you probably know me. I am Alexander K. Leonandra, fourth puppy of the Leonandra household and known for being a genius mage and alchemist..." He conjured a couple of small fireballs, letting them dance on his palm, "...you may know this already, but there are many things less known about me."
She looked first at the fireballs but then at Alexander, confused. He sighed, extinguishing the fireballs and creating a water contraption of a little person with a core made of light floating inside, a lightning orb spell, also called candlelight.
While doing so, he said softly but strictly, "I apologize. Sadly, we may have a communication problem, but let me try to be clearer..." The person made out of the water, with a shining light in its chest, stood finished before the night-elf, waving at her while smiling crookedly.
She looked at it, becoming more confused, obviously expecting torture rather than this bizarre sight. However, Alexander continued, sounding relaxed, "This is a representation of a sapient person. A beast-kin, a night-elf, a human, whatever you want, and the little ball of light..." He smiled at her more amiably, tilting his head slightly, "...you know what this is?"
She didn't respond, becoming visibly bored, but Alexander wanted this, trying to bring her emotions through a rollercoaster. He continued while gesturing, suggesting he was a typical noble who wasn't fond of fighting, "You see. I don't like violence and less all the blood. Because of this, alchemists and mages have tried to perfect certain torture methods over the millennia..." She raised an eyebrow, looking confused but with anticipation and fear this time, "...which are not brutal, but it really depends, right?" He opened his arms as if asking.
From beside the person out of water rose a person out of the earth, and while it slowly formed, looking nightmarish, just sitting there with an open mouth, he continued while sounding excited.
"For torture, I use the soul transmission method, which is quite ancient but still good, in my opinion, but it is better to demonstrate to you what I really want to do with you..." He licked his lips as if wanting her to be still silent.
When the earthly person finished, the light inside the water person slowly started to leave, and when it was outside, the water splashed on the ground, dissolving. The elf looked at it, slowly realizing what was happening, but Alexander continued joyfully as if he were playing with his toys.
"This method is quite dangerous..." He chuckled, "...well, for you, honestly, since I need to extract your soul and put it carefully..." The ball of light moved toward the earthly body "...into a fitting puppet."
It was one of the less-known rumors and gossip about mages and alchemists, saying they could steal the soul. In all honesty, Alexander believed somewhat that a soul existed or something with his thoughts, ideas, and memories since he woke up as a puppy after being used in a real-life version of the board game where you stab the barrel with swords.
However, Alexander didn't know what the soul was, how to locate it, or anything else. He betted on the elf, knowing even less about sound alchemy, mages, and souls, and it worked. Her panic slowly rose, her eyes opening widely, her pupils shaking. From the beginning, his idea was to threaten her with something that everyone feared: Eternal torture.
Seeing her slowly breaking down, Alexander sighed, sounding slightly annoyed but still joyful, scratching his head, "It's quite the work I need to do, but if I do everything right, your mind or soul will be inside the puppet for all eternity, Keke..." He held his hand before his mouth when he chuckled like a crazy person, acting surprised, "...whoops. I am sorry, but I always wanted to see what happened to a soul after ten, fifty, hundred, and thousand years without any stimulus, meaning you will not feel, see, hear, smell, etc. You will only be able to think..." His smile widened, looking at her as if she was about to be devoured, "...slowly going insane!"
Alexander touched the puppet made from earth, the light now fully inside, while glaring like a crazy person into the elf's eyes, who suddenly started to sweat, slightly pressing herself against the wall, trying to escape instinctively from him.
"Isn't it great? You will slowly go crazy without being able to kill yourself, hehe..." He approached the earthen puppet while looking at the elf, pressing against the head, "...and even better. When I am gone, the puppet with your soul will still exist..." His smile widened even more, "...for all eternity." He crushed the earthen person's head.
She broke, tears slowly coming out. As she was about to say something, her neck and mouth shaking, Alexander interrupted her, wanting to give her a chance. He shrugged, "Well, while I love to experiment on you, a night-elf's soul..." He sighed, disappointed, "...I sadly have my noble's duty to find out who was behind the love potion."
He destroyed the earthen person, still acting disappointed but trying to sound more joyful, "It's obvious that you are not the one behind this love potion. Still, if you tell me everything, you know..." The earth of the earthen puppet transformed into a treasure chest with light glistering, looking like gold, "...I will reward you handsomely since I need that information more than your soul..." He sighed more heavily, "...sadly."
The night-elf closed her eyes, sweating, but opening her mouth slightly, barely audibly muttering, "Please stop..." This was the first time she spoke. Even Quill couldn't bring her to talk, so if her following words wouldn't be a go fuck yourself, it would be a win.
However, Alexander had to act. He rolled his eyes and sighed, sounding exhausted, "I feel a little insulted, honestly. I am not a monster, you know? Besides my infamous side as mage and alchemist, I am also known to be very gracious, helping the poor and troubled. A saint, which title I take seriously."
She opened her eyes slowly, still panicking but more relaxed. Alexander smiled at her more amiably, using every skill he could, "If you tell me everything, not only will I give you enough gold to live comfortably for three of your lifetimes, but I will also send you to some village nobody knows about, and..."
She tried to say something, her voice full of anxiety, "I..."
Alexander waved at her in dismissal, wanting to come over as excentric, still playing his role, "Psht, let me talk... where was I? Right!..." He clapped his hands as if he forgot, "...and I will also help your close ones, depending, of course, on the situation as a whole, obvious, right?"
He dispersed the treasure chest made out of earth and lightning orb, straightened up, and stretched, "Urgh!..." After he was done, he looked down at her, "...so? What's your answer? I am honestly happy with whatever choice you make."
She looked down, visibly thinking it through, and then became silent again, not answering at all. After some minutes of her not saying anything, Alexander sighed and shrugged his shoulders, "Fine by me. Let me get the ingredients and a fitting puppet..." He turned around, acting as if wanting to leave, only to get stopped by her, her voice shaking, talking with a weird Nocir dialect, "Please wait! I will tell, but..."
Alexander turned around, looking confused, "But what?"
She looked down, biting her lower lip, sounding distressed, "We just want to live... please..."
Alexander raised an eyebrow, sounding annoyed, "Listen, tell me everything you know, and I will give you a life of pure bliss in some nice and isolated area. If it works out, your family will also be safe. I simply need the one who made the potion or who directed you to make it."
She looked into his eyes. Anxiety and unsureness overwhelmed her, "I... but..."
Alexander, seeing her like this, needed to give her insurance. Otherwise, she would only tell him half-truths. He, however, meant what he said. He had no interest in punishing some foot soldiers and would rather find the root of their operation and rip it out entirely. As such, he said something he shouldn't, with him still acting, shrugging, "I get it. How can you trust me, right? What if I promise you, though? Do you know how valuable a noble's promise is?"
She nodded, surprised, with her doubts slowly disappearing, "I... know..."
Alexander nodded, squatting again before her, "Other than that, is my reputation not fitting? A mage, an alchemist, and a saint?"
He couldn't make a mana contract; he needed to send her away without leaving too much on the record. Sure, he could destroy it afterward, but before that, he needed to make it, write it, etc. It would cost too much time. Giving her a noble's promise was much faster and better anyway, as a noble's word had, paradoxically, even without leverage, more worth.
Nobles were proud beings, and they staked their reputations by promising something. Even if only close retainers saw them lie or not follow through with what they promised, it would heavily damage their relationships. Why should one believe in his promises when he lied before? As such, his word was worth a lot.
She nodded again, and Alexander continued, "You see, I love to help people, never mind the race, age, gender, or whatever they are, and I can help you..." Alexander bopped her nose.
She flinched slightly, looking to the side, frightened. Alexander had her, with her visibly wanting to speak but needed a little time, 'Now, who actually made the damn potion, and who do I need to burn on a stake.'
However, she suddenly started crying, contorting her face, "Heuk... my people are dying."
Alexander tilted his head, "Your people?"
"I... I will tell you everything, but please... heuk safe, my people..." She looked at him hopelessly, "...I don't care about gold... You are a saint, and I know of those rumors about you."
Tears started running down her cheeks, and he saw how she had bet everything on him, and her following words made more sense as to why, " I... I also listened to your speeches... heuk... I am a Leonandrian, too! I was born on this damned Red Moon like everyone else! Please! Safe us!"
She bowed forward as much as she could, her chain tightened, "I will do everything! My people need protection! Aren't we all the same?! Trying to survive this torture... heuk!"
Alexander raised an eyebrow, sitting on the floor before her, leaning backward while creating a backrest contraption out of earth, "Start and the least I can promise you, by my name, that I will listen to you, and if they deserve saving, I will do my best."