Chapter 23: The Hounds III

In the center of the square, seated atop a large wooden crate that had been flipped upside down, was a woman with pale blonde hair falling loosely over her shoulders.

Despite the chaotic surroundings, she carried herself with an ease and dignity that made the plain crate seem as though it were a throne. The space around her had been left clear, a gap between her and the gathered Hounds, as though no one dared to stand too close.

Name: Sonia

Age: 40

Level: 30

Class: [Mercenary, Tier 1]

Personal Skill: [Lifeline Lvl 3]

From what Leo could see, the Hounds leader only had a short dagger strapped to her belt and no other visible weapons. She might be another magic user, or perhaps her weapon was hidden.

Currently, the woman was nodding along as a straight-backed mercenary reported to her, not having noticed them yet. Her eyes were intense with focus, and the wrinkles around their edges only made them seem sharper.

At the front of the group, Flora stepped forward without hesitation.

“Sonia.”

The woman in question turned their way with a tilt of her head. She didn’t seem angered by the direct address or at the interruption, and the man she’d been speaking to dipped his head and stepped back into the waiting crowd.

“Flora. Dalton. Ivan. I see you’ve returned from your patrol.” She greeted the three Hounds with a nod.

Her eyes snapped over, and Leo flinched on instinct. Directly facing them, those cold, pale blue eyes—nearly silver in the light—seemed to peer directly through him

“And who are these?”

Flora glanced back at them briefly, then focused forward again.

“They claim to be travelers,” she replied. “We found them by the lake. Dalton believes they may be suspicious.”

At the mention of his name, the man in question stepped forward, maneuvering his spear to avoid hitting anyone in the crowd. His posture straightened, and he bowed sightly at Sonia before speaking.

“I used [Candor] on them, ma’am.” He gestured first at Spade.

“She scored a 98. But,” he added, a slight scowl forming as he jerked his head at Allan and Leo, “that one got a 21, and he…” His voice trailed, frowning as he glanced back at the [Fragmentholder]. Leo waited stiffly.

“…he scored a 0,” the man finally said, his voice sounding much less confident than before.

Leo heard a few mutters at that, but he kept his focus on Sonia, whose face didn’t move.

“Is that so?” Her voice was flat. “I didn’t think that was possible.”

Dalton shifted uncomfortably. “I didn’t either, but I thought it’d be better to make sure they’re not with the Serpents or something, ma’am.”

“I see.” Sonia rose to her full height, eyeing the three of them critically. She took a step forward, and Leo resisted the urge to move back. He was faintly aware of the mercenaries around them shifting away, leaving more space between the three of them, Sonia, and the onlookers.

The woman came to a stop a foot in front of them.

“Show me your classes.”

The words stung, uncannily familiar, but the [Fragmentholder] kept from reacting. Sonia nodded at Spade.

“You first, since you’re apparently the most trustworthy one.”

A tinge of irony traced her words. Leo supposed it was ironic that the most truthful one of them was, at least according to that skill, the scarred [Executioner] self-admitted to have come from the Solomere Empire.

“I wouldn’t necessarily phrase it like that,” Spade said lightly, but she didn’t hesitate to pull up her class.

Leo’s eyes flitted over, carefully taking in the angle of the sheet. [Visual Illusion] could only target a single person at a time, so he had to make sure that no one watching on the sides got a clear enough view of his class to know something was wrong when Sonia got to him.

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“An executioner?” The Hounds leader raised an eyebrow, studying Spade. She hummed thoughtfully. “I do seem to recall a few stories of a grey-haired executioner traveling around Avel.”

“Good ones, I hope.”

“A village the Hounds guarded briefly mentioned you taking on a job there.” She didn’t say more about the exact opinions given, but the way she turned to Allan next suggested it wasn’t bad. That was good. So far, she didn’t seem to find them especially suspicious.

“What about you?”

Allan eyed her warily, but brought up his class as well. For a moment the woman didn’t speak, simply studying the screen with those unreadable eyes.

“You don’t see that everyday,” she finally said. Allan frowned.

“I didn’t think it was so rare.”

“A pure [Healer] class certainly is. The System rarely presents it as a selection option.”

Allan glanced over at Leo, but the [Fragmentholder] was just as surprised. Sure, he’d known it was uncommon, but not so rare as to be given special notice.

He didn’t have time to think on it further, however, because Sonia turned to him next.

Leo’s heartbeat sped up, and for a crazed moment he worried she could hear it. If the mercenary detected his unease, however, she made no note of it, simply smiling amusedly.

“And you, impossible liar?”

Shifting slightly, Leo moved so that his back was to most of the waiting Hounds.

Inhaling, he activated [Visual Illusion], picturing his desired stat screen and attempting to project that to Sonia while pulling up his class screen as small as he dared to without arousing suspicion. Thankfully, since he stood in the center of Allan and Spade, they also helped block others’ view.

He quickly activated [Judgement], using the new active ability to get a sense of exactly what Sonia was seeing and to test if it would register his own illusions.

[Class: Factoryhand]

It seemed like it did show him the manipulated stats.

Leo watched, tense, as Sonia studied the text, silently willing her to finish so he could dissipate the stat screen before someone else caught a glimpse of it. He’d purposely chosen [Factoryhand] because it looked somewhat similar to [Fragmentholder], in case someone on the sidelines saw it at an angle, but it was far from perfectly safe.

He waited, shoulders drawn in a rigid line, for Sonia to say something, trying to read any emotion in those icy blue eyes.

Finally, the mercenary straightened. Leo held his breath.

“You’re rather scrawny for a factoryhand.”

The words were casual. Dismissive. He exhaled.

“I’m pretty new at it,” he muttered. He dissipated the stat screen. Sonia hummed, not seeming to have noticed the illusion, but Leo didn’t dare celebrate just yet.

The mercenary stepped over to the overturned crate, sitting back down again in a fluid motion.

“Class wise you’re not particularly suspicious, and I have my hands full enough already.”

Leo eyed her warily. Would she let them go?

Sonia didn’t blink, betraying nothing. And then, raising a hand, she made a single sharp tugging motion with her finger.

[Sonia has activated the [Lifeline] skill]

An invisible force yanked on the [Fragmentholder], and Leo stumbled, lurching forward and barely managing to avoid being completely wrenched towards the woman.

He felt himself fall, the ground rapidly approaching, and caught himself at the last second by landing hard on his hands.

He gasped, chest heaving. It felt like the air had been drawn from his lungs, like his throat had been crushed. That ghostly pulling sensation still lingered and made his skin crawl. He shuddered.

“Leo!”

Allan ran forward, and he was vaguely aware of the [Healer] crouching down beside him to help him up. His focus, however, was fixed on Sonia, whose expression hadn’t moved.

“Decent resistance stat,” she remarked.

Beside the [Fragmentholder], Allan’s eyes darkened, an expression Leo rarely ever saw. His nerves spiked. The only time it had boiled over—

He quickly spoke before the [Healer] could.

“I’m guessing you’re not letting us go.” In his peripheral vision, Allan’s jaw clamped shut.

“You’re free to leave in four days,” Sonia replied easily. She cocked her head. “You’re no fools. I’m sure you’re well aware that something is happening in this village, and I’d rather not have blabbering mouths spreading rumors.”

“Killing us would accomplish the same thing.”

Leo’s eyes darted back at Spade, but he couldn’t make out the [Executioner]’s face from this angle.

Sonia laughed lightly.

“That’s certainly true, and perhaps another group would have. Fortunately for you, the Hounds do maintain some integrity. We’re protectors and guardians first and foremost, after all.”

The villagers certainly didn’t look like they felt “protected,” Leo didn’t say out loud, but Sonia must have guessed what he was thinking if the gleam in her eyes was any indication.

“Blame your misfortune on Clearside.” She smiled and gestured to the village around them.

“But not to worry. As long as the old fool does as we ask, this will be no more than a blip in your travels.”

Leo had no idea what she was talking about or who the “old fool” was, but he had the sinking suspicion that the four day release was significantly less likely than she implied it to be, if the tenseness of the surrounding mercenaries was any indication.

“…and if he doesn’t?”

He spoke slowly, carefully. The Hounds leader didn’t flinch.

“For your own sake, pray it doesn’t come to that.”