Draoidh are convinced that communion with the natural order is built on trust. I’ve always felt it relied more on faith because we had to assume that the Heavens couldn’t violate the Truths. That’s a bold assumption when we consider that our cultivation defies the Heavens we trust to act according to the Truths—if that isn’t faith, I don’t know what is.
~Cailleach, the Veiled Hag of Winter
A sigh was the only sound in the room. Crow wanted to find out about his ring but got sidetracked. He had a few days because he was sure he couldn’t escape this, but he also didn’t feel any impending crisis. That meant the danger was probably real, but it would benefit him.
Besides, he wasn’t sure what the little Kitty had done, but he was definitely aware of his surroundings. He suspected it was some sort of ability related to his Inquisitor cultivation, separating his Mind or consciousness from his Body. It was almost like sleep paralysis or an out-of-body experience. The torturer knew everything that was happening but had no control over his motor functions. Or he did, but it’d require his consciousness re-entering his body.
The only thing he wasn’t sure about was why he could sense it. His ghostly abilities and Mana Sense relied heavily on his Spirit, so it would make sense that he was more sensitive to things like this. In a way, it was like a part of Kitten’s Soul left his body.
Internally, Crow’s chuckle sounded sinister, but he didn’t allow his prisoner to sense any of it. It was time to taunt him to death.
“Big brother, you need to learn to control your strikes.”
Otto looked at Crow and knew his little brother was up to something. “Explain.”
“Mana is drawn toward your fist when you punch—probably all of your strikes. I only noticed it this time because I’ve been using a condensed sphere of my Mana Sense around us and the dead guy. This is a good thing, but your delivery is sloppy. That was why the bone shattered instead of breaking. Practice it and focus on the gathering energy. If you can deliver that strike with concentrated mana, the effect will be much more devastating.”
“How?” Otto asked. He now knew he was trying to anger their victim, but Crow rarely spoke nonsense when he was talking about abilities. So he didn’t question whether they were bullshit but was intrigued by the implications of what his little brother just said.
“Not sure. I can tell you the best thing is to hit stuff like this slab of meat and feel the condensing power. Now that you know you are doing it, you should be able to sense it happening. Once you figure that out, you may be able to infuse your lightning into it. Even I’m terrified of going up against something like that,” Crow explained. “I’ll think on it more, and if I get any more insights, I’ll let you know.”
Crow sensed Kitten rushing to wake his body and could even feel his terrified and frantic state. But, the moment his consciousness was back in his body, he couldn’t sense his emotions anymore. Interesting. Are emotions exposed when the Soul leaves the body or because of my abilities?
“Toy no sleep,” Otto said and shook the chains, causing the prisoner to scream. “Break toy?”
“Wait, big brother. We are civilized people—”
Kitten spat blood, his body shaking with anger. Who the fuck are you kidding, you goddamned devil?
“His lower leg has two bones. You think you can control your punch to break only one?”
“Otto try,” the big giant was grinning from ear to ear.
“Stop,” Kitten whispered hoarsely. “Stop toying with me—just ask the questions or kill me.”
“Fine, let’s try that again. Who hired you?”
“I can’t tell you. If I told you, our organization would eliminate my entire bloodline.”
Otto nodded, and Crow rolled his eyes.
“I’m not an unreasonable person, and if you had said that, your leg would still be intact.”
The sound of grinding teeth sounded unnaturally loud in the current lull between conversations. Crow snapped his fingers.
“Same bone—left shin. I’ll let the employer question slide because I can’t let you die yet. I’m afraid your brain will have a failsafe, and there is still an important question I need to ask. First, how about treasures? You should have some of those, right?
“I don’t know—”
Before he finished, Otto kicked the shin, and Crow didn’t stop him.
“Oops. Practice more,” Otto said sheepishly. Even Crow couldn’t believe the shamelessness and laughed until Otto started chuckling beside him. His big brother didn’t even try to aim for a single bone—he just fucked it up. Even Kitty’s screams couldn’t drown out their laughter.
“You shouldn’t lie. My big friend is simple, but he knows when people are lying. It is something to do with who he is.” Crow didn’t fully understand how it worked, either. Otto couldn’t explain it too clearly, but Crow understood it enough to know it had to do with energy. People couldn’t hide their energy signatures when lying or telling the truth. Otto figured out how to tell the difference and became their lie detector. When Nin and Mara found out, they used his services extensively.
Crow knew it had to do with his lightning-based physiology but didn’t know if it was an inherent trait passed down from his people. The ability might even be a bloodline power. Either way, in times like these, it was helpful because Crow’s method was messy and may not have the best results.
Kitten finally realized that these two were a pair of devils that should never be crossed. He swore that if he survived this, he’d torture those bastards for leading him into this trap.
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“Wait, I know of a trove. The sect that hired me also hosts auctions. Any items it acquires that it can’t identify, they lock them away in a secret vault hidden in the jungle.”
“So it was a sect? Interesting, because I’ve only dealt with one of those I know about. Wonder why they have an issue with me? No matter, tell me where this treasure trove is.”
Kitten didn’t even care that he was letting important information slip. His mind was jumbled with hate, regret, and fear. He didn’t hold back on any detail he knew about the trove, and he wasn’t tortured. The peace he gained kept him blabbing well beyond what was necessary. Crow wrote everything down and drew a detailed map that surprised Kitten.
The nice thing about his Sage’s Mind was that he could combine all the maps he saw throughout the town and create a more accurate assessment of where things were. It was all in layers that he could then mash down. Adding this treasure map as a layer, he pinpointed the location based on the landmarks provided.
“Right humerus,” Crow said while still detailing his map. He didn’t even look up and sensed that Otto had already moved. “I suggest you spare no detail this time. What is this ring?”
“Sacred Order of the Awen. Before you ask, that’s all I know. We are below a library that supposedly belonged to them. Although it has a few books, no one can touch them. That’s really all I know for sure. There isn’t much information on the order other than those wooden artifacts—they’re all cursed.”
“Cursed how?”
“Truth or speculation?” Kitten responded.
“Both.”
“Once activated, you have three days. Then you’ll disappear, and we will never see you again. I believe the victims are taken away to a trial. I know that once the artifact activates, it takes hold of the person, and it’s impossible to remove.”
“Keep going,” Crow said and still hadn’t looked up from his map.
“The only other thing I hesitate to add is that I’ve never heard of it activating like it did for you. It is the first time I’ve ever heard of the symbol changing.”
“You seem to know quite a lot about its activation. Why?”
“I’m an inquisitor. And it isn’t the first time I’ve worked for this employer. They hire me to find out about treasures, what they do, and where they found it.”
Crow glanced at Otto, who nodded his head.
“Soul-Linked?”
“You’d know that better than me,” Kitten said, and Crow realized that he’d asked a stupid question. Although it sounded rude, the man’s words were accurate.
“Otto?”
“Wait! I answered.” Otto ignored the sobbing and nodded his head. Kitten watched the unspoken dialogue between the two. “What are you two doing?”
“Relax,” Crow said. He handed the finished map and written information to Otto.
“Why give?”
“You and the girls will need to go after it. If Kitty is right, I only have a few days before I disappear.”
“Take with?”
“Don’t think so, buddy. If I’m right, it’s like the Clocktower thing again. It’ll suppress my Soulscape. Even if I’m wrong, I can’t take the chance. I do not know how long it’ll take to escape, and I can’t take my wives and stunt their growth. Which means I need you to protect them.”
Otto didn’t say anything, just slapped Crow on the back. It was gentle, but he felt the mana inside him shift. Crow looked at the big guy who was smiling mischievously. Otto already knew he was manipulating mana. You sly, bastard.
“I’m not looking down on you, but what escape? Didn’t you hear me? No one ever comes back.”
“You are wrong and missed an important detail,” Crow sneered at the torturer. “Awen is the Draoidh symbol for the Soul Trinity. The reason others failed was that they were most likely not Draoidh.”
“And you are?”
“I am. Even awakened my bloodline. I won’t fail,” Crow told him. “And this about wraps up our question session of the game. Sadly, the information I wanted you couldn’t provide.”
Crow unblocked his Soulscape and linked to Nin. Before he could speak to her, the prisoner started begging for his life.
“Don’t kill me. I know another big secret. Blackmail! In my pocket, there is a vestige that recorded the president of Wind Swallow Bank capturing and doing unmentionable things to the local women. Not just one or two, either. That thing contains no less than twenty incidents of coerced sex, rape, and murder.”
Otto nodded.
“Well, aren’t you full of surprises? That asshole tried to take one of my wives, so he may end up with the same treatment you are getting. I’ll take it.”
*Nin?*
*Finally remembered us?*
*Listen…* Crow explained everything that happened and what he was about to do.
Crow approached Kitten, and his hand lost its corporealness before ghosting inside the man’s chest. Kitty stiffened because he could feel the cold energy inside him. He couldn’t utter a word before Crow solidified his fingers inside the man’s heart. The torturer’s pupils widened to a ghastly size before his body slumped. Unless they cut him open, they wouldn’t be able to see how he died.
Withdrawing his hand, Crow subconsciously wiped his hand on the man’s clothes even though there was no blood or grime. The act of killing still didn’t sit well with him, but the man was evil, and his soul was necessary for finding out who was targeting his people.
Mara lounged in a chair, basking under the reddish-black sun, when a new Ghost Butler appeared beside her. While the Soulscape was extensive, she felt it was starting to feel crowded. Moments later, Crow’s consciousness showed up near them.
“What is happening?” Mara asked.
“Nothing good. But this butler will have answers,” Crow explained and assimilated with the ghost. Externally, his body shape morphed into the torturer, but he was too busy reading through the man’s memories.
A Soul lost a lot of small details and events, but it kept the essential parts—usually. Thankfully, the newest memories were primarily intact, providing the most accurate information as they weren’t degraded by time.
“Who was targeting us?” Nin asked. While Crow was sorting through memories, they’d all arrived. Even some of the nymphs were curious to see what was going on.
“Unhulde Sect?” Crow didn’t sound sure but dove back into the memories to look for anything related to that sect. What he found sent chills down his spine. “Dammit, these people are way more organized than we thought. I’ll send you all out. Please help Otto clear the building while I organize my thoughts.”
“Okay,” Mara agreed decisively, and all of them disappeared, even Lily.
“Boss?” A nymph tried to get Crow’s attention.
“Are you wanting to leave? I haven’t found a safe place to place you, but I promise I’m looking.”
“That isn’t it. We…” Crow didn’t recognize the little nymph talking to him, but she hesitated and looked at the others for affirmation. They were all hiding but doing such a poor job that Crow smiled at their silliness. Their heads were all bobbing, and Crow pretended he didn’t see them. “We would like to make this place our home.”
“Really?” Crow’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Is… is that okay?”
Crow had no issues with it. In fact, he was excited about their decision. Their presence here had improved the Wood Mana inside his Soulscape, and he could sense his affinity had risen. He didn’t investigate it yet, but he was positive it was a benefit from having the nymphs present.
“It is. I welcome you to your new home. If you want anything from out there, just let me know.”
“About that, we do have a small request.”
Crow almost laughed at how serious she was trying to look. It was like a little girl asking her parents for a toy. “Go ahead.”
“Could you add some small woodland animals? They don’t have to be beasts or anything dangerous.”
“Are beasts helpful to you?”
“They nourish us.”
“Ahh, I didn’t think of that. Sure I can help you out. I’ll find some smaller predators too,” Crow told her. It wasn’t just the scat but the cycle of life and death that aided plant growth. It was a detail he’d overlooked. The nymphs thrived on Wood Mana, but the quality and purity depended on the tree’s growth and nutrients. Ecologies were the hardest things to balance. He felt like he adopted several more problems for every new treasure added. However, he didn’t regret it.