Leonard sighed. He still couldn’t get used to the stench of decay and despair that permeated his small cell. Just the thought of its previous inhabitants made his fists clench in anger.
The stone underfoot was cold and uneven, worn smooth by the countless feet that had trudged the same path to misery. Dim light filtered through the tiny, barred windows, casting long shadows that seemed to dance mockingly around him.
Three other souls shared this purgatory. They sat apart from one another, each lost in their private hell. Their faces were etched with the lines of exhaustion, eyes dull and unfocused, staring into the void as if looking through the walls that confined them. They made no sound, no movement to acknowledge Leonard's presence. In their silence, there was a profound resignation, a surrender to the fate that awaited them all in this forsaken place.
The air was thick with the tang of salt from the sea and something else - something darker, more pungent. It smelled of fear and decay, of bodies left too long without the sun's cleansing light. The walls, once perhaps proud and strong, were now cracked and leaking, covered in patches of dampness that spread like a plague.
That actual people were being subjected to these conditions without any shred of evidence of their wrongdoing would have once been enough to shock Leonard. Unfortunately, he had seen enough in the years spent in Haylich that nothing would surprise him anymore.
Perhaps it was precisely this that led me to be here. I’ve gotten used to the way things were and have stopped fighting back against the status quo. There were always more important things to do, a new push from the forces of the Void to counter, a new skill to master. I allowed myself to become distracted from the festering corruption and poverty that haunts this land.
The fact that a decent man like Gerard had been forced to arrest him made this all even more apparent. Now that the haze of grief had been forcefully ripped from his eyes, Leonard was able to see things clearly.
Someone in Mellassoria, Haylich’s capital, had tampered with his mail. It had to be someone with significant power in the Royal Court, too, as they had managed to get their hands on some Void’s Dew, a strictly controlled substance.
Not that it narrows it down much. That city is a pit of vipers, and anyone with enough pull could have done this. They might not necessarily be my enemies and have only done this to make the blame fall on somebody else.
Belinda’s life would be nothing but a footnote to many of those people. His exile to Alpar had been caused by a prolonged season of the Diet, which couldn’t get enough votes for anything, not even to grant him citizenship. This meant that, as he technically wasn’t granted legal provisions, he risked being arrested despite having fought for years against the Incursion.
The king himself, His Majesty Vasily Daniel of Haylich, had suggested that he take some time away from the capital to relax after the war's end while he wrangled the Diet into accepting his decree. Leonard had never trusted the man, but he had allowed it, not wanting to spend more time than necessary in Mellassoria.
This means that anyone from the King to a minor lordling could be the one to have tampered with my mail. Not even that would solve the question entirely, as someone else could have allowed them to get their hands on the Void’s Dew.
The capital’s convoluted politics had been one of the reasons why Leonard had been all too happy to leave it behind and spend some time with Belinda. He had developed many grudges with the administration while fighting on the frontlines, from the big ones - the institution of slavery was absolutely revolting to him, but was considered a fact of life to the natives - to the small ones - requesting supplies for a push into lost territory needed to pass through several Junior Ministers before it could be approved by the Senior, significantly delaying the advances.
“I see that you have woken up from your fugue.” A warm, honey-like female voice interrupted his thoughts, making Leonard shift on his cot to greet one of his few remaining friends.
“Amelia, I see that you have heard of my fate.” He said in lieu of an answer.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/sxS0pxth/Amelia-2.png]
Before him stood a woman who could have rightly been called drop-dead gorgeous in his old world. In this one, where the masses were often unwashed and sick, she was beyond stunning. Tall, with long legs and even longer inky black hair. Elegant lashes framed purple, smoldering eyes. Milky skin was accentuated by the low-cut midnight dress that reached her ankles. She wore a black mourning veil over her face, but Amelia Barks was still a vision of otherworldly beauty that had captured many hearts, even in the most challenging moments of the campaign against the Void.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
That such a vision of perfection was paired with the incredible power of the strongest Spirit Channeler of the kingdom only made her more enticing to many. To Leonard, she was a good, honest friend. He had fought alongside her for years after she had been recruited for the Heroic Party, and he knew her to be a faithful companion.
She had been the only one to accompany him into the depths of hell when they reached the origin of the Incursion, after all. If he could trust anyone in this cutthroat world, it was Amelia.
In the time it had taken Leonard to shake himself from his contemplations and stand up, the woman had put to sleep the two guards waiting outside and the three poor sods that had kept him company.
“I was afraid I’d have to kick you around a bit before you woke up, but I can see that some of your old flame has sparked up.” She commented silkily, the rusted iron lock keeping his cell closed opening with a click at the passage of her finger.
Leonard silently watched his friend look around the small room with evident disgust and couldn’t help a slight chuckle, “Not exactly what you’d think they’d offer to the Hero who saved the country, huh?”
“I never thought much of him, but Judge Eichelbaum is even pettier than my expectations,” Amelia replied, referencing the man nominally in charge of Alpar since its lord died during the Incursion. A replacement had been promised months before, but it didn’t seem to be coming anytime soon, and the rat-faced judge was enjoying every day he could get out of his unchallenged rule over the town.
“He never liked me, so it doesn’t surprise me he’d take the chance to make me suffer. He might even believe me guilty, considering just how hateful he is.” Leonard replied, knowing that his and Amelia’s presence in the town were the only two checks left on the man’s authority.
Amelia sighed, sitting gracefully on the cot and considering Leonard with a sad gaze, “You still believe the best in people, as always.”
Leonard cocked his head, silently asking her to elaborate further.
After a moment, she did so. “There are three paladins stationed in the courthouse at this moment, waiting for your trial to start. A high-tier slave collar has been brought in from the capital, too. As you might imagine, this level of coordination and promptness means that the current situation was at least expected, if not directly arranged.”
A loud bang startled Leonard out of the blind rage that had overcome him, and he realized that he was the cause, as his left hand was now deeply buried into the stone wall, having penetrated it all the way through. He freed his hand with a sigh, light flooding in from the outside through the new hole.
“I expected something like this, so I cast a [Silence] over the prison,” Amelia reassured him from her perch, not having batted an eye at the display.
Breathing deeply, Leonard forced his brain to work. The Royal Court knew he was powerful, likely even that he was stronger than the average Hero that was summoned every century or so, having access to those records. Those usually plateaued at Champion tier, and he knew the First Lance suspected him of being above that. But was it possible they had enough information to know he’d survive the Void’s Dew?
They might have suspected it. Or the person who sent it might not even have known just how strong of a poison it is. It’s not like many people bother accessing the more obscure studies on this matter. That means they took a shot to see what would happen and sent the Paladins to clean up whatever mess was left over. But this narrows the list down a lot. No Junior Minister or minor lordling has the authority to send three fully-fledged paladins anywhere, much less all the way south to a small town like Alpar.
“I see you got it,” Amelia sighed. “I don’t like gloating,” she lied, “but I told you this would happen. Well, not that they would go so far as killing Belinda, but I told you months ago, when you first informed me of the Diet’s problems with your status, that they would try their best to get rid of you. And that many might pay the price.”
Leonard didn’t particularly enjoy her tone, but he knew she was right. He bowed his head in apology, something that even the king hadn’t seen, “You were right. I’m sorry. My foolishness led to exactly what you predicted, and now Belinda is dead because of it.”
Amelia’s eyes softened, and she placed a perfectly manicured hand on his cheek. “Just remember that it’s not your fault. You made a mistake, but the people who placed the poison in your tea are still out there. And they will do anything they can to get rid of you, whether that is enslaving you with a collar meant to rid you of your powers or killing all those dear to you.”
Leonard’s face hardened, and he nodded. “Yes, they are still out there. I’ll need to deal with these paladins and EIchelbaum first, but it’s time that things begin to change around here. I’ve allowed them too much leeway, and this is the consequence.”
A small smile of satisfaction crossed Amelia’s fine features before she covered it, using the dark veil to hide, “As long as you know that every action has its consequences, you know I’ll follow you.”
“Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Leonard sighed.
All at once, a cacophony of sound from the outside echoed through the previously silent prison. Unintelligible shouts, cries, and screams told the story of dozens, if not hundreds, of people gathering outside the courthouse, vivaciously protesting something.
Seeing his confused look, Amelia patted his cheek one last time before withdrawing her hand, “You didn’t think that the good and honest people of Alpar would allow their Hero to be treated like this without protesting, did you?”
Leonard blinked before a rueful smile crossed his features. His green eyes seemingly lost some of the darkness that had overtaken them since the death of his beloved. “Yes, the people have a good heart.” He murmured, looking through the hole he had unwittingly created at the crowd gathering outside.
“Think about what will happen to them, too, will you?” Amelia said before dusting off her immaculate dress and clapping once, shadows pooling at her feet as her summon, a Shadewalker answered her call. “I have some things I need to do now, but you know I’ll support you no matter what you choose. Just make sure you are committed because there is no going back after this.”
“There was no going back the moment someone killed Belinda,” Leonard answered without looking at her, eyes already fixed on the upper floor.
“Good.” Amelia’s whisper was lost in the air as she disappeared from the cell, no sign of her presence left behind save from the still-sleeping prisoners.