Taking a long look at the pink dressed woman, he found he was not surprised by the declaration she made. While they were traveling, he could see the animosity she felt for her brother. Being sensitive to anger himself, he could feel her tension jump up whenever Lord Attomas came near her.

To his surprise however, she blatantly said it to Telvin's face. It is quite a big leap from hating a person to willing to admit that you want to kill him. Veronica's face had an expression of shock, and she said "Isn't he your brother?"

Lady Niadas frowned and said in disgust "In name only. I do not consider that thing my brother. The only true brother I have is Lord Jadai."

"So you want me to, what exactly? Kill Lord Attomas, a Noble?" Telvin asked. "I may not particularly like nobles, that doesn't mean I'm willing to kill one. If you got the impression that I was some kind of assassin, that is wrong. Besides I have no reason to murder him."

Placing her pink parasol to the side, she said "I did not approach you because you seemed like an assassin. If I am to be honest, your healer strikes me more the type. I can smell the blood on his hands. No, I approached you because I believe I can give you a solid reason to kill him."

Shaking his head, Telvin replied "If you think you can dump gold in front of me and get me to murder someone, then you are even more mistaken. Even if you have something that might pique my interest, Why would I want to kill a noble? That would just lead me to get my head cut off." 

"That is not something you will need to fear. Have a look at this copy of a letter I received a few days before we headed out on the expedition. It's from the King." Lady Niadas pulled out a piece of paper from her purse and handed it over to Telvin who took it.

Telvin unfolded the paper and quickly read through the letter. In brief it was the King sending his condolences to Lady Niadas about the loss of her Brother Lord Attomas during the expedition to the north. He was also inviting her to present herself at the court when her grieving period was over.

Squinting his eyes in thought, Telvin said "So you have gotten the support of the King to kill you brother? Is he that willing to risk the anger of the other nobles?"

"There is no risk, my brother is not well liked by other nobles. In fact many stand to gain with his death, plus my brother is a thorn in any deal the King makes with the empire. The official record will note Lord Attomas as dying in an accident while on an expedition. You need not fear repercussions as your name will never come up, should you choose to kill him."

"Even if I don't face trouble, that doesn't mean I'm okay with blatant murder. Without a concrete reason to assassinate the man, I will not do so." Telvin said, looking at Lady Niadas. "Though I am curious to know your reasons why you want to kill him."

For a second she was silent looking at him then said "When I was seven, my brother Attomas was abducted in front of me. In part it was my fault, for I had convinced him to come out to play with me. For several months I beat myself over it, before Attomas was found again. Unfortunately, what came back was a monster wearing his skin."

Reaching down, she began to unbuckle her right boot. "Regrettably my parents failed to see it. The way he stared at us, his family, at me, I could tell the moment when I tried to hug him when he returned. It was more than him being cold, he was filled with absolute disgust towards us."

"Several healers had come to visit him to check him and they told us that he just needed time to adjust back to living with us." She pulled off her boot and took off her pink stocking. "One night when my parents were out of the house, I had gone to bed only to wake up in immense pain. While I was asleep, Lord Attomas had taken a heated brand and jammed it against the bottom of my foot."

She showed Telvin the bottom of her foot was a crooked M that was scarred into her flesh. "Do you know what he said? That I had to bear the mark for the sins I have done. He put something on the brand that prevented the mark from being healed. Yet that was just the beginning of things Lord Attomas would do to me as I was growing up."

Taking a deep breath she continued "The reason I got so good at contracts is because Lord Attomas forced me to sign one when I was ten. Even now I am bound to that contract, and can only break it when he is dead. I possess no words to describe just how much I despise the monster. If I could, I would kill him myself."

"What was the contract you signed with him?" Telvin asked.

"I do not know where he learned to write contracts like the way he does. It's not backed by gods, but blood magic. It has four clauses that I have to follow. To begin with I could not inform my parents on what he did to me. Second, I had to deliver my firstborn child to him. Third, I could not directly harm him. Fourth I am to provide him my menstrual blood for the remainder I am having periods."

Veronica gasped and said "Madness! Did no one see this? Surely your father would have observed his son being the horror he sounds like." 

"As luck would have it for me Jadai did notice. Lord Attoma grew to fear Jadai for Jadai wasn't afraid to beat the shit out of him. Sadly Jadai was not around as often as I would have liked. As for my parents, they were also away too often. When they were nearby, Lord Attomas had a perfect disguise of being the kind son. I only managed to escape his clutches when I moved out. Though I still need to deliver him my blood every month."

She looked in thought for a moment looking at her pink boot she held in her hand as she was placing it back on. "Do you know I despise the color pink? I find it absolutely hideous. I only wear it, as Lord Attomas hates the color far more than I do. In the early days the sight of it would make him physically sick just to see the color."

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Buckling the boot up she looked at Telvin and said "Those are the most substantial reasons I want him dead. There are others of course."

After a moment of thought, Telvin said "While your story does portray him in a negative light, for all I know you stepped on the brand accidently. I'm not going to kill the guy just on your word he is an asshole. If you hate him that much, why have you not tried to kill him earlier?"

"Do you think I have not tried? My brother was sloppy in how he drafted the contract. While I myself cannot kill him, I can seek other's to do so. Unfortunately, he has become increasingly paranoid with every attempt. He is frustratingly resilient and has escaped several attempts on his life."

"I do not expect you to take my word for it. I just want you to listen to my offer. I like to know all the players in any game I play. I had several agents watching where Jack was staying, and they saw you at the meeting he had. It was easy to backtrack where you visited in the city, given Orcs are relatively rare in the city, then I heard of your meeting with your cousin in the temple district."

"So you know who my father was?"

"Not directly. I only came to learn of it, when I saw unusual reports regarding your Uncle. Do you know he has spent nearly ten thousand big gold coins every year at a temple to help seal a curse within his daughter Mianda?"

"He was able to seal the curse?" Telvin asked.

"For the moment. Every year or so he has to add another layer to the tattoo on her back." Lady Niadas said.

"Where does this happen?"

"There is a Temple in the capital to the god of Nobles Alacanar. They have a modipod that has been directly modified by the god to apply a special series of tattoos. The gold is for the session, but how he got them to agree to it is unknown to me."

"So what? You are offering me a tattoo to seal my curse away? You just told me that it has to be done every year, so would I have to become a lap dog for you to continue getting it sealed? No, I will find the goddess who put the curse in my blood and have her break it."

"You say that, but do you know how far your father went to break the curse? With all the support he had, he still failed."

"No, I am not my father. Where he failed, I will succeed." Telvin said.

She looked at Telvin, and nodded "I can see the determination in you. No, I am not offering you a chance to get the tattoo. That is beyond even my ability to get. I suspect only the King can authorize such an action. I do not know what your Uncle had to surrender to get it."

"Then you what exactly are you offering?"

"Have you heard of Emotionaca Jewels? I have been able to get my hands on a several pair of the calming kind."

Telvin drew a blank on what those were, but Veronica looked shocked for a moment and asked "Where did you get those?"

"You know what Emotionaca Jewels are?" Telvin asked.

"Crafted over a thousand years ago, from the emotions of a sleeping god overflowing. Only a few have ever been recorded of being found. Simply by grasping one, the intense emotions within can seep into you. For example if you held one of the sadness pairs, you will be filled with great sadness."

"You are correct. I am surprised you heard of it. Very few have. I have a source that will be able to provide you with them. Of course, it won't stop your curse. But if you find yourself out of control, they should be helpful in stopping yourself. Especially since I see you want to have a relationship with that Orc woman."

Thinking about Riley, he did have a fear deep within him, that he would fall into rage and hurt her one day. Still it was not enough to get him to murder. "You are right it does sound valuable to me, but it's not exactly worth me killing Lord Attomas."

"If you knew the true value of them, you would think otherwise." Lady Niadas said, "I still have other things I can offer. Tell you what, I will leave this contract with you. If you find something you want, just write it down, and I will sign it. All I ask you to do is think about it, if you decide to do it, Just sign the contract."

"Are you not afraid of me going to Lord Attomas and giving it to him?" Telvin asked.

"No, first he knows I aim to kill him, just as I know he aims to kill Jadai. Second, he would not even trust you, he probably would think this was another ploy of mine to get him killed. In fact I suspect he aims to kill even your patron Jack. Though we both know how foolish that would be for him to do so."

"I don't like doing dirty work for someone I don't even know." Telvin said simply.

"Just think about it." Lady Niadas stood and said "Have a good night you two."

Watching her go, Telvin looked at Veronica and said "I will not sign a contract with that woman. I feel as if I am walking through a field of traps with her."

"I do not know how she came across Emotionaca Jewels. From my understanding most should have already been destroyed."

"They are that valuable?"

"Yes, not only can they alter one's emotions, they can do far more than what she let you know. For instance they can manipulate one's mind. A skilled practitioner could mind control you to do things against your will."

"How do you know so much about them if they are as rare as you say?"

"My first master had a pair of obsession ones. They do have a limit to how many times they can be used, before they need to be recharged. As far as I know, no one knows how to do that. So she may be offering you used up Emotionaca Jewels."

"Maybe, but I ain't looking to collect."

"If he attempts to assault My Lord, I will deal with him."

"Good for you. Conceivably you can persuade her to reward you if you do." Telvin said and stood up. "Let's get back."

Veronica nodded and they walked back. The sun was already down beneath the mountains and a chill wind swept down from the mountains. Telvin saw Riley had set up a fire and was currently cooking. He sat next to her as Veronica went towards Jack.

"Where did you head off too?" Riley asked.

Telvin looked around making sure no one was close and whispered "Lady Niadas wanted to hire me to kill Lord Attomas." At that time Telvin told her what Lady Niadas had said.

"I see." Riley said.

"I didn't accept of course."

Riley nodded and said "It's best not to get involved with that family too much. I can only sense trouble from them." Riley looked at him and said "Sealing is not the same as getting rid of."

"That is true."

"I suspect she had another motive in persuading you away from camp." 

"What do you suggest?"

"Lord Attomas undoubtedly saw the three of you leave camp. He would be a fool not to suspect his sister of plotting something from you. She would also know that. It is possible she is using you to distract him, so the true assassin can kill him."

"Maybe. We better get a full meal tonight. I feel tomorrow is going to be eventful." Telvin said.