Liana had a dilemma facing her. She felt inadequate during the slaver battle. On Earth, she had never faced any true challenges, as she was just beginning to realize, and that left her with a feeling of being weak now. Yes, it was likely that her opponents had fought using their weapons for longer than she had, and had actual combat experience.
Killing the men also made her realize that she and Lilith weren’t in a game, even if the world had some game-like elements. There hadn’t been a health bar when she was struck by the arrow, and Liana was forced to face the reality that she could have died. That was unacceptable, because it would leave Lilith alone without Liana to watch her back.
I need to be stronger. That was the simple reality. Armor, magic, whatever, none of it mattered if she died from a single hit. That meant durability, which meant a Path that could mitigate damage. Liana wanted magic, yes, but did it have to be flashy, throwing fireballs and lightning? No, she’d take whatever magic she needed to keep herself and her sister alive.
She looked at Lilith, who was sitting and staring up at the sky as they waited, lost in thought. Lilith was beautiful, more so than Liana. Maybe they were identical twins, but Lilith had grace and composure that Liana didn’t. That’s what made her so beautiful, whereas Liana was just pretty. She didn’t have the grace or composure, and that was fine. She was an “in your face" kind of girl, a sadistic thug, and she accepted that.
First she had to assess her own strengths. She was strong for her size, but she was built for mobility and speed, not being an armored tank. It would likely be possible to train for that, but too much muscle would hamper her speed. It would stay on her list of options for now, though.
What sort of Paths would rely on avoidance over mitigation? And was there one that combined the two, some sort of avoidance-based Path that had some mitigation ability? Monk was the first Path that came to mind. Again, it was all theoretical until she could get hard facts, but in theory, at least some monk training for dodging, then into something else for offense and utility. Wizard came to mind first, since they normally eschewed armor. And, again depending on how Paths worked, likely had more, and better, spells to choose from.
“Hey, Lil?”
The older twin turned to look Liana. “You called, little sister?”
Liana flipped her sister off. “It was two fucking minutes, Lil.” She let out an exasperated sigh. “You think this Path system has multiclassing? Or multi-Pathing, I guess I should say.”
“I suppose it’s possible, but we’ll have to ask a native. We could ask our new servants, but I have a feeling that some of their knowledge will be incorrect.” Lilith tapped her chin. “We’ll need someone older that has a Path, or a good library. Ideally we’ll have access to both, so we can study on our own, then ask questions.”
Liana mulled over her sister’s words. Lilith was always like that, studying something on her own, then finding someone who actually did it to see how it truly worked. She was also a lot like a robot, not allowing stupid emotions to cloud the issue. Lilith didn’t show any emotion, except towards Liana, unless it benefited her.
Liana shelved her thoughts on Paths for now. She’d have to do like Lilith said and read the fucking help files, or player guide, or whatever the fuck they had on this world. Right now, they had a quest to complete. She looked towards the village, muttering when there was still no sign of her new catgirl servant. They needed to hurry the fuck up – how much shit did they have to pack, anyway?
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Lilith was also thinking, but her thoughts were in a different direction. She had already filed away the shock of almost losing her sister, but there no longer any danger, so it was something they’d have to address when they reached the fortress. They had no way of shoring up weakness now, so thinking about it was pointless.
No, she was considering long-term plans and what sort of goals they’d need to set and achieve to ensure their survival. Yes, picking a Path was high on the list, but it required more information. Lilith could likely select priestess now and be satisfied, but she was not one to leave things to chance, so she would wait. And they had no way of knowing if the choice would incapacitate them while it made changes, so it could even be detrimental to do so. She had armor, weapons, and magic available, and she would have to rely on those for now.
Why had they been summoned here? Were they specifically targeted, or was it by random chance? That could make a difference in their future plans. Lilith pursed her lips. It was best to presume they would need to acquire power whether they were targeted or not. That would give them the best chance to succeed. The dark elf nodded slowly. She’d discuss it with Liana first, but was sure her sister would agree.
Again, it all came down to why they were here, and that was something they had to complete this “quest" Malis had given them. Lilith had been tempted to take her sister and leave the two village girls, but something had made her stay. While the two villagers were an unknown commodity, Lilith had a feeling they’d be important to their success. And it wasn’t as if the twins couldn’t just release them of their oath if they didn’t work out. Or kill them. Whichever gave the most benefit to the sisters.
Movement from the direction of the village drew the dark elf's eye.
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The dark elves both stood as Cara and Analie approached. They had watched the two to make sure they weren’t followed and hadn’t seen anyone. Liana had set an alarm spell, as well, so they were reasonably sure there were no surprises.
As she approached the waiting dark elves, Analie admitted she was nervous. Offering her service as payment had been a spur of the moment thing. She hadn’t actually believed they would take her up on it, and would help without payment when they saw the desperation.
And then she had watched as they ruthlessly killed the slavers without hesitation, confirming every story she had heard about dark elves. Violent, aggressive, and powerful. True, they were off-worlders, but they fit the mold of what her parents had described to her. It made her a bit frightened, all told, especially considering they didn’t have a Path. Or so she believed, since the blood moon was so recent and they seemed ignorant of how things worked.
The elf sighed inwardly. She wanted a combat Path and she’d never get that in the village. Analie had no combat experience, just skill with a longbow from hunting. The elf had no illusions that servitude would be easy, and once the contract they’d agreed to was signed, they be little better than slaves. She was a bit worried about what she’d agreed to, flushing slightly. She’d basically agreed to give them her body if they wanted it.
Cara, walking side by side with the elf, was having similar thoughts, and was likely even more nervous. The catkin had always been shy, but the thought of Analie, her best friend, leaving her alone in the village and going off with the dark elves, had made her agree to serve them as well.
The villager was not afraid of hard work – that wasn’t the reason for her nervousness. Cara was nervous because she was afraid one, or both, of the dark elves would want to be intimate with her. She wasn’t against being with a woman, as same-sex relationships were common on Irdean. But she had grown up reading books and had the dream of being romanced, like the women in those stories.
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It was too late to back out now, and like Analie, she had watched the dark elves kill the slavers without hesitation. That was reason enough for her to not even try and back out, because she did not want to be the target of the twins. Especially the one in the leather armor, who had tortured the leader before killing him. The thought of being tortured made the catkin shiver with fear.
The dark elf wearing the chainmail nodded to them as they walked closer. “All set?”
Analie nodded. “Yes, we’re ready. Um, before we get started, can we ask your names? Or what we should call you, at least?”
“Ah, of course. I am Lilith, and my sister is Liana. For now, just use our names. We’ll consider if we want something formal later, but we’re in a rush.” Lilith gestured to the west. “Any idea how far it is to the fortress west of here? That is our destination.”
Cara took that question. “W-with loaded carts, moving slowly, it’s about t-three days. But t-that is walking slow. Two d-days, at most, depending on how fast w-we move.”
The catkin froze as the dark elf named Liana stepped up close to her, reaching up to take her chin in her fingers. The catkin stayed very still, not resisting as the dark elf examined her, gently moving her head, then letting go of her chin and carefully touching her ears, which made the villager shiver slightly.
“Amazing,” Liana said in a soft voice “I’m not dreaming. A real, live catgirl.” She stepped away from Cara as Lilith giggled quietly.
“Pardon, but on Irdean they’re called catkin.” Analie coughed lightly as Liana looked at her, then nodded and gave Cara an apologetic look.
“Sorry. We call people like you catgirls back home.” Cara flushed at the apology, giving a quick nod of acceptance.
Lilith gave a quick glance at her sister, somewhat surprised at the semi-apology. The older twin chalked it up to Liana probably wanting to bed the girl and decided not to worry about it. “Right. You’re both armed?”
Lilith checked the two village girls over. Analie had grabbed a longbow and quiver of arrows, probably from the slaver. She also had a shortsword strapped to her belt and a dagger hilt sticking up from her left boot. Cara had a shortbow and quiver of arrows – Lilith guessed it was hers, since she hadn’t seen any of the slavers carrying one. The catgirl, or catkin, also had a shortsword and dagger, both attached to her belt.
The dark elf nodded, turning to her sister, who was also checking the villagers over, her gaze lingering on Cara. She’d have to talk to Liana about that when they were alone, but for now, it was time to move. “Let’s go, Lia. We’ll camp at sunrise, please keep an eye out for a good spot.”
Liana nodded and gave a casual salute, then turned and headed west, the others following behind her.
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The rest of the trip to the fortress was uneventful. It took all of the next night and a few hours past sunrise before the group arrived at the fortress. The walls surrounding the fortress were massive and appeared to be seamless, with Analie mentioning that spellcasters likely sealed the walls with magic when Liana made a comment about it. The gates were as tall as the walls and made of what appeared to be iron. A smaller portcullis was set in the wall near the gate, covering a door. Four guards in chainmail stood at the portcullis, armed with spears, shortswords, and shields.
The twins led the group towards the guards, while the guards, who had been talking, stopped what they were doing and watched the group warily. As they drew within ten feet, one of the guards stepped forward and held up a hand.
“Halt! This is the fortress of the Hand of Night, the church of Lady Malis. State your business.”
Lilith and Liana stepped forward. “My name is Lilith, and this is my sister Liana. We were given a task to come here by Lady Malis a few days ago.”
The guard rubbed his chin. “I’ll have to get Sergeant Rothin to confirm before I let you in. Wait here, please.”
The guard turned and jogged back to the other guards, gesturing at one. That guard, in turn, jogged to the portcullis and pulled a rope, apparently some sort of signal. The door opened, the portcullis remaining in place. The guard seemed to speak to someone inside, then the door closed and the guard returned to stand with the others. The twins walked back to Cara and Analie to wait.
Fifteen minutes later, the door opened, followed by the portcullis raising, and a dwarf stomped out of the fortress. He stood about four feet tall, and almost as wide, with dark gray skin, white hair, and red eyes. He walked over to where the four young women stood, then stopped and looked them over.
“Ye got here a bit earlier than we expected, lasses. The guards weren’t told to watch fer ye, since ye weren’t expected until tomorrow at the earliest.” The dwarf spat on the ground. “I’m Sergeant Rothin, in charge of training. Ye’ll be seeing a lot of me over the next few weeks, mebbe longer depending on yer Paths.”
Rothin studied the group for a bit, stroking his beard. “So, we were only expecting the two of ye. Picked up some stragglers?”
Lilith grinned at him. “They offered themselves to us as servants in exchange for us killing a group of slavers attacking their village east of here.”
“Oh, aye, I know where ye mean. Not much out that way. The pacifists, aye?” Rothin nodded. “So ye got some servants. Ye need them fitted for servant outfits, then?”
Liana laughed and shook her head. “They’ll be fighting with us, once we get them contracted.”
The dwarf nodded in understanding. “We can get that set up fer ye here, lass. Priest Xavos is a wizard, a powerful one, and if he don’t know a ritual, it ain’t been invented yet.” The dwarf turned and walked towards the fortress, waving for the group to follow. “Let’s get ye settled in, lasses. Ye want them in their own room?”
Liana looked at Lilith first, who shrugged, before she answered. “Might as well, if you have the space.”
Rothin paused to let the twins catch up, then walked with them, taking two steps to their one. “We have the room, lass. Only one living in the tower at the moment is Xavos, and he’s not been here more than once a week until the blood moon. Guards live in the barracks, which there are three of, and tower servants have a building as well. Rest of the slaves stay in the pens. You’ll get a tour of the place eventually, though.”
The dwarf led the group into the tunnel, the portcullis sliding down with a loud clang behind them before the door was closed and barred from the inside. They walked across the courtyard between the wall and the tower, which the twins suspected was at least a quarter of a mile in distance. The guards at the door saluted the dwarf before opening the door of the tower to allow the group inside.
On the outside, the tower looked tall, but they hadn’t truly appreciated how large the radius was. The entryway was large, about fifteen feet on a side, with an even larger room beyond that. They gave up trying to guess the measurements as the dwarf stopped, snapping his fingers at a servant wearing a black metal collar.
“Set up two of the single rooms on the ninth floor, boy. Grab some others to help ye, and be quick about it.” The servant bowed quickly and ran off down a narrow hallway, and the dwarf gestured. “That hallway leads to the servant room. Laundry, sewing, things like that get done there. Ye ever need a servant, should always be at least one on duty there at all times.”
Rothin led the group to a different hallway, then stopped, motioning for the village girls to stay put. “Ye wait here, lasses. Xavos wants to see Lady Malis' Fated, and only them. I’ll have a servant show ye to yer rooms when they’re ready and ye can wash the road dust off and change.”
Cara and Analie nodded as Lilith and Liana followed Rothin down the hallway, which was close to twenty feet long. At the end of the hallway was a door. The dwarf knocked once on the door, then opened it at a muffled command from within. He motioned for the twins to enter, pulling the door closed behind them.
Inside the room sat an older human male with graying hair. He stood as Lilith and Liana entered, waiting quietly as they looked around the room before turning to face him. The man nodded to the dark elves.
“Please, be seated. You must be tired after your journey here.” He motioned to a pair of cushioned chairs in front of the desk he stood behind. “My name is Xavos, and I am the current leader of the Hand of Night. I will not speak long, as someone else wishes to speak with you, and I don’t want to make her wait.”
Xavos walked around to the front of the desk, standing in front of it and facing the twins. “I just want to say that I am honored to meet you both. Tomorrow, after you’ve rested, we can have a discussion about Paths, and I can show you the information we have on them, which is quite detailed. For now, I will take my leave, as Lady Malis wishes to speak with you both alone.”
The man bowed and left the room, closing the door behind himself. The twins watched him leave, then looked at each other. Their heads spun to face the desk as a familiar voice spoke.
“Well done, girls. You performed admirably on my little task.” Malis sat in the chair that Xavos had vacated, right leg crossed over the left, smiling at them. “I wasn’t expecting you to fight the slavers, and securing the services of those villagers was an interesting bonus. And well thought out, also. You’ll need people to aid you. No matter how strong you, you can’t be everywhere at once.”
The twins listened quietly, and Malis paused, waiting for them to speak, then continued. “So, you’re sure to have questions, about why I summoned you and for what purpose. But the answer is complicated, so we will first start with what a Fated is, and why they are so special.”
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