When it came time for the evening meal, Evileye presented herself at the house with the red door and mace knocker, and rapped three times in rapid succession, the door was opened by the now familiar Calia.
Calia opened the door and welcomed Evileye warmly. Her smile was on full display when she said, "Its so wonderful to have you, my husband rarely brings people home except the occasional member of the temple."
Evileye stepped through the door and found the residence to be...quite normal. There was a small open area from the front door, a pair of chairs sat between two bookshelves, the books themselves bore the most beautiful signs a book can...the marks of wear, having been opened many times. The floor had an uncommon luxury, in that it had a small circular rug, and beyond the main room there was a small area for dining, a small low set table, and four chairs, a welcome sight for a pair of guests. The table was simply smoothed wood, and the chairs had a bit of leather secured to the seat and to the back for greater comfort. There was a kitchen she could see, but not well from where she stood, and to the left of that another chamber, which she presumed was the bedroom. The walls, other than the two bookshelves, were largely undecorated save for a single drawing of a village set on a hill, it was simple, no great masterpiece, but the artist had put much effort into it, and it drew her eye.
Calia noticed. "Thank you for appreciating what you see, poor effort though it is. Do you like it?"
Evileye approached it, the houses were simple cottages, thatched or wooden roofs, but the greenery popped out at the viewer, and she said, "Yes, very much."
"It is my husband's work." Calia said with a note of sadness. "It was our village, before the war. When Ulthis got me out...along with a handful of our neighbors, our homes were burned and those who didn't get out with us, were captured, and as I never saw them again, I assume, killed.
"When we made it somewhere safer, one of the areas in the South, Ulthis," Calia walked to him, and touched his arm, "saw that I was beside myself with grief, so he went out and purchased a small canvas and painted it from memory, so that I'd always be able to look back and see it as it was. That was the second time in the war he'd saved my life."
"It is...very impressive." Evileye said with politeness. She noticed that Ulthis appeared a bit embarrassed by the sentiment being so publicly spoken, but he covered it well by pulling out a chair and gesturing for her to make herself comfortable. "Please, sit." He said hastily, and Evileye obliged.
"Dear, our guest is aware of my nature, so if it isn't to much, would you bring me a glass?" Ulthis said with the utmost kindness in his voice.
Evileye watched and listened carefully, there wasn't the slightest sign of distress or discomfort in Calia's affirmative response or the way she moved, not one single indication of fear. Her certainty that the woman spoke the truth was solidified in her mind.
As she was out of the room, he leaned in close to Evileye, "I have not told her about you, can you eat or drink anything?"
"I can eat small quantities, yes, though it is...uncomfortable." She said softly. "But...when I remove my mask...my eyes..." She whispered.
"I'm not much of a magic user, but I can use a simple illusion spell, your eyes will be as they were before you turned, at least for tonight, I can do that much." He said softly in return, and he quietly cast his spell.
"Oh and dear, only a small quantity of stew for our guest, she's been a bit unwell and cannot eat much." He said, again she gave the affirmative.
"So, I can see it all over your...mask...I guess." He said with a wry laugh. "What do you want to ask?" He probed.
"Are you in any way involved with the disappearing trappers or hunters?" She asked bluntly.
"What?" He asked, mystified.
"We've had a decline of both, but there are always a few accidents, and with the decline in yields, some have left but..."
Evileye raised her hand and interrupted, "So you've been told the same lie...listen, the hunters and trappers aren't having accidents, they're being taken, possibly killed when they go out there. They've been told to keep quiet to avoid a panic, and the Marquis spread a rumor that they had just given up and left over the decline in yields and have gone elsewhere. According to the Marquis though, this rumor is not going to work for much longer, and when that happens, you can guess where he will direct blame." She said seriously.
Calia returned before he could respond, and placed a glass filled with blood beside him, and a bowl of stew in front of Evileye. "Thank you Calia." Evileye said.
"Thank you my love." Ulthis said, and he kissed heer cheek when she leaned down, and placed her own bowl near to his.
For Evileye the whole scene was utterly bizarre, a secret vampire priest, a human wife, and a secret vampire adventurer, sitting down for dinner in a holy kingdom next door to a temple dedicated to the worship of a foreign undead king...what a day it was. It was with some hesitation that she removed her mask, sat bare faced across from the couple, thinking that it was almost as bizarre to be without her mask in front of people...as all the rest of those circumstances were.
Took a bite of the stew in front of her, and said, "Its quite good. You're an excellent cook Calia." Evileye said politely. She looked down at it, and figured it must be, the meat was well cooked and there were clean, fresh vegetables mixed within, it was a rather nice looking dish, though for all her enhanced senses, the taste of normal food was dulled considerably from what it had been before her turning, so it was mostly guesswork on her part about how good it was.
Calia however, smiled at the praise and appeared to detect nothing was amiss, "Thank you Evileye, I'm sure the humble fare of my house is nothing compared to the richness of the great hotels and palaces you must have visited, but I'll gladly accept your praise."
The next two hours were spent on mundane things, but which gave Evileye ample information about the city, the way offices were sold and how people who bought them turned a profit through bribes, and how this temple interacted with others around the Holy Kingdom. "So..." Evileye began, "the temples all communicate by the postal system the Sorcerer King created, with every temple being designated as building number 'one' for its city. What about in the larger cities where there may be more than one?" She asked.
"Well that hasn't happened yet, but you're not the first to ask, each temple after that will be named for a virtue, for example if there are two temples in the capitol, and I wanted to write something different for each, I would address one letter with 1Strength and the other with 1Justice. In this way I can easily exchange information with specific temples even when there is more than one per city." He answered.
"Clever." Evileye said, "And are you the only temple drawing monetary support from outside the city?" She asked.
"The only Black Justice temple, as far as I know." He answered, "One of the conditions is that the funds are distributed to our members, and that has helped with gaining converts, though how many are sincere and how many just want the support, I don't know." Ulthis said.
"What about the temple to the old gods?" She asked.
"I've seen the priests and other workers from the temples out shopping, but I know that the income from the people here has been on the wane, so I can only assume they are either drawing on outside support, or they are spending their reserves. They do still have some income because they've tried to forbid their members from coming to us for healing, not that everyone listens...but those that do, still pay the fee to stay in favor with the temple authorities." Ulthis answered, with a hint of frustration in his voice.
Calia had spoken periodically about the state of family affairs within the church, and from her Evileye learned that a number of families had recently had children, and that the temple had sent out a request for a teacher to be sent so that they could be educated. It made Evileye curious. "I noticed you have several books...well worn ones at that." She said.
"Oh yes." She said with a warm smile, "We both enjoy reading."
"Is that...common?" Evileye asked.
"It didn't used to be." Calia replied. "But the Sorcerer King has said that ignorance is weakness, and his servant, Pope Neia, has said that weakness of mind is as sinful as weakness of body, both must be cared for to honor the god of this world, as well as to honor ourselves."
"So learning to read is part of induction into the religion?" Evileye asked.
"Sort of." Calia answered, "It is required to become a priest, and priests are required to be teachers on the side when there isn't someone dedicated to that role. So anyone who joins us is expected to better themselves, not everybody chooses to start with reading though, some start with combat and fitness, some choose to work on their vices, each one decides for themselves, but in time we hope to ensure everyone who joins us is fully literate. That is why we've asked for a dedicated teacher, to start with the children as soon as we can."
"Fascinating." Evileye said.
The hour by then had grown late, Calia yawned. "You will excuse me I hope, if I go to bed now."
"You've been a wonderful host, thank you Calia." Evileye said with a smile, and the woman went to her bedroom.
As she opened the door, Evileye caught a glimpse of her face reflected in some glass, and saw the eyes of her youth on her face again, they were a beautiful sea green, a shade she'd almost forgotten she ever had. Her face was entirely human, for the first time in over two hundred years, and she could not look away, it was only the closing of the door that broke the moment, and Evileye looked down pensively.
"Are you alright?" Ulthis asked, detecting a change in her mood.
"Can you dispel the illusion Ulthis? I think I'm done pretending for the night." She said softly.
Then the magic was gone, and she was herself again, but she did not put on her mask. There was much more to say, and the night was filled with questions and answers, in both directions, and that didn't change until the dawn broke. When that time came, and the Sun peeked over the walls of the city and filled the place with light, Evileye stood up.
"Thank you." Evileye said with the deepest sincerity. "This fills in a lot of blanks about how things work in Kedyn, and in Black Justice."
"I was happy to help, Evileye." He said in return, they stood up and shook hands, and Evileye left the house feeling very, very good. She returned to the inn and found the rest of Blue Rose sitting downstairs eating breakfast.
"Join us for breakfast shorty?" Gagaran said in her usual boistrous voice.
"Join you yes, breakfast no, I've already eaten." She said politely.
"Did you learn anything useful?" Lakyus asked?
"I learned a lot, but how useful it will be is another matter. How about yourselves?" Evileye asked in return.
"Rumors mostly, Tia and Tina were able to draw out information from the remaining hunters and trappers without spoiling the cover story put out by the Marquis." Lakyus said, and the twins looked smugly self satisfied. "However the only thing we were able to work out was that all the disappearances happen in the Western and Southern woods, bodies don't turn up, but before people stopped going in there, those who did return say they've found clothing and personal artifacts, they returned with those, but now...nobody goes at all, the way in is close to the Black Justice training grounds, and they've done marriages and other ceremonies out there as well, so the belief that they're responsible somehow is pretty widely held."
"And promoted by the temples. I visited all four of them yesterday during services and spoke to the congregations, there is a lot of hostility there, and the sermons were not what I usually expect out of temples, each service was a two hour long denunciation of the new religion and not much else." Gagaran said. "The people who are devoted to those temples are, for lack of a better way to say this...falling into line."
Lakyus nodded. "I spoke with the priests, they're new to this region, having been dispatched from the larger seminaries to fill the gaps left by the war, and to replace an older priest who went into retirement. But they've been here for awhile now, longer than the duration of the disappearances, and they're zealous about the faith. They see Black Justice in this area as a real threat to the future of this city, but they have stopped short of outright saying that Black Justice is to blame, probably because the disappearances aren't public knowledge yet. All anyone really knows is that they've suffered a downturn and the people who drove this city's prosperity are giving up and leaving them in the lurch. The new religion spends relatively freely, and that helps, but it's driving more resentment than anything. People are feeling threatened, that makes this dangerous. Now, what did you learn Evileye?" Lakyus asked.
Evileye was just about to begin speaking, when the screaming started outside, a woman's wailing that was loud enough, terrified enough, horrified enough, to wake the very dead without a spell, rang out through the streets. Blue Rose responded as one, leaping to their feet and charging out the door, already reaching for weapons to strike with, and what they found was a well dressed woman screaming that her child was missing. A crowd had started to form, and...in a better run city, Evileye would have expected the city guard or some patrol to be by to take control of things. This however, was not a well run city.
Lakyus however, was quick to take control. "Ma'am, please calm down, tell us what's happened." Her eyes were filled with concern, and between her gentle eyes, her formidable voice, and the fact that Lakyus and her companions were well armed, it sufficed to allow the woman to speak more slowly and more clearly.
"I-I woke up this morning, got myself ready for the day, and my servant went to wake my daughter, and I heard my servant scream, I rushed into the room and saw why...she wasn't there, the window was open and her clothing that I had ordered laid out for her to wear today wasn't there, my girl...she was GONE!" The woman said, her voice growing more anxious as she came near to hysteria again.
"Stay calm ma'am." Lakyus said, "Tell me, what did she look like, what was she wearing, what is her age? We need to know what we're supposed to look out for."
The woman was breathing rapidly, but she managed to stumble the details out, "She's seven summers old, she has auburn hair, green eyes, her name is Rava. She had a toy with her, a stuffed cat, it's gone with her."
Lakyus turned around, "Gagaran, go find one of those worthless guards, give them the information." She turned back to the woman, "What is your name?"
"Cercei." She said, her hands coming together as if in prayer, only to begin wringing desperately and shaking with anxiety.
"Alright Cercei, we're taking you back home, we'll deal with the guards for you, but you need to be where you can be found." Lakyus said firmly. "You can't help her out here, and if she comes home and doesn't find you, then she might wander off again." The woman had begun to object, but at the second statement, she nodded numbly, and lead the remaining members of Blue Rose to a large manor home, a woman servant was pacing at the door, shaking with anxiety, when she saw Cercei approach, she let out a cry and rushed to the woman, weeping sorrowfully and begging for forgiveness for letting her down.
Cercei didn't even seem to notice, Lakyus let the woman go, and the servant drew her gently into the home, briefly thanking Blue Rose, when a man came to the door, he had a long black mustache and fear filled blue eyes, his face was rough and his body had a medium frame that might once have been strong, but had begun to go softer with soft living. He was however, remarkably tall, easily the size of the gargantuan Gagaran, and he had the air of a man used to being considered important, if he wasn't a nobleman, Lakyus was prepared to eat her sword.
When the women were in, he stepped outside. "Thank you for returning my wife." He said, "I am Yamoc, Viscount of Kedyn."
"It was my honor to assist you, I'm Lakyus of Blue Rose." She replied.
"I've heard of you." He said, "Somehow I thought you'd be taller..." He said, then shook his head, dismissing the irrelevant thought, "How can I help?" He asked, "I'll do anything to have my daughter back."
"Without knowing why she was taken, I cannot think of anything. But stay here, if there was a monetary motive, you may receive word of a ransom." She said.
"Thank you, I'll wait then." He said grimly. "Gorli, Gorli!" He called over his shoulder, and a young man in boots and simple peasant dress appeared at the call, "Go put the word out that I will give my daughter's weight in gold for her safe return. That should motivate people to find her." He said, "And if you want to join the search after telling all the criers, then you may do so." He said.
The young man darted off, and then Yamoc thanked Blue Rose again, and when he heard the sound of his wife's crying, he closed the door and walked to tend to her.
"We...need...help." Evileye said as they started to walk away.
"What kind of help?" Lakyus asked dubiously.
"When I was in Foundoton I heard a story, Neia Baraja had gone to a village where a man was going to be executed for murder, she stopped the execution, and to make a long story short, she investigated and found the true guilty party. If she was able to do that, she might be able to help with this." Evileye said vigorously.
Lakyus blinked. "That sounds great, but there are two problems...first we don't know where she is right now, second we have no way to get her here in time for it to matter anyway."
"Yes, we do." Evileye said.
The team froze.
"What?" Lakyus said in confusion.
"I know the priest of Black Justice here. For ordinary things they conduct correspondence through their postal system, but he personally knows the leaders of Black Justice in the capitol, and I know Black Justice temples keep scrolls for spell casting, he can get a message to them immediately asking where Neia is."
Lakyus frowned. "That doesn't get her here, and that doesn't guarantee that she'll help us. Remember what happened last time we met? Her country was torn apart by demons and we refused to help her, why would she help us now?"
Evileye held up a finger, giving Lakyus pause, "Among their scrolls they have some 'instant transportation' spells, they don't have a limitless number of them, but if they know where she is and get a message to her, she can come here immediately."
"But will she?" Lakyus asked.
Evileye looked down. "Given the last time we met...I don't know."
"Boss, it's a shot." Tia and Tina said together.
"We've been wanting to speak to her for awhile now anyway." Tia said.
"And this could be our best chance at doing that for who knows how many weeks, if not months." Tina added.
"Fine." Lakyus said, "I hope to the gods this works. We may be the best adventurers in Re-Estize...but this is different from monster hunting." She said with a sigh.
"Evileye, go to the temple, inform the priest and seek his help, tell him Blue Rose will pay for the use of the scroll if necessary." Lakyus said, "I'm going to go to the Great Hall and meet with the Marquis and inform him about the Viscount's daughter. Tia and Tina, work the underbelly and see if you can find anything out from the criminal element of this city. We'll reconvene in four hours at the inn."
They all nodded in acknowledgement, and set out on their tasks with the swiftness of hurricane winds.
The city was in an uproar before their return to the inn, from concerned citizens to the simply greedy, people were rushing around individually and in groups, it was the most activity Blue Rose had seen since their arrival, and when they Lakyus returned to the inn, she found the priest of Black Justice sitting at the table with Evileye, and a much more on edge Gagaran, Tia, and Tina. Lakyus felt her sword hand twitch, but restrained herself with great effort. "You must be Lakyus. I've heard much about you." The vampire priest stood and held out his hand, Lakyus looked daggers at it for an awkward moment, but did not reach out for it in return, until he lowered it back to his side uncomfortably.
"I don't like this." Lakyus said. "But I trust Evileye with my life, so I'm putting my misgivings aside to work with you, but that does not make it my pleasure to meet you." She said frostily, making the uncomfortable moment, more uncomfortable. He raised an eyebrow, relatively nonplussed.
"Well, you are more or less what I expected...thought you'd be taller though..." He shrugged, "Whatever, its fine, shall we do this here or do we go to your room?"
"My room." Lakyus said, and walked away stiffly up the stairs, the rest of them wordlessly followed, and when the door closed Ulthis pulled out a collection of scrolls from his pack, and one by one he cast the spells necessary for quiet messaging, and soon he was in contact with Robel.
"Robel, my friend, I need your help." Ulthis said.
"Ulthis, so good to hear from you, I'm assuming this must be important if you're reaching out this way...so what do you need?"
"My friend, things are not going well here in Kedyn, tensions are running high and a problem has emerged that will only make things worse if not solved. I need the help of Neia Baraja. Do you know where she is, can you reach out to her?" Ulthis asked.
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"I do...she's still with Tinamoc in the Southern Holy Kingdom, the last I heard from her was several days ago, she was in the city of Wenmark, apparently things are very ugly there, are you sure you need her help?" Robel asked with concern.
"I am. I don't know much about Wenmark, but I do know that this city is trouble, and the 'heroes' present are not fit for solving the problem." Ulthis said, giving a stone look at Lakyus, who had the decency to look uncomfortable.
"Heroes? What heroes?" Robel asked.
"Blue Rose. The adamantite adventurer team, they're asking for her help." Ulthis said.
There was silence for a moment.
"I'll reach out to her immediately. Remain where you are." Robel said, and contact was cut off.
"Now we wait." Ulthis said with arms crossed while Lakyus stared daggers at him and Evileye fidgeted uncomfortably.
They did not wait long. A gate opened in the air, and through it stepped two figures. One of them Lakyus knew, the other obscured behind Neia. But the one she knew...felt like a stranger.
Neia was wearing a visor now, along with vastly different armor than Lakyus remembered, and wore a bow that Lakyus would have sworn was handed over by a god, but those were minor differences, it was the aura around her that stood out, it drew the eye to her and made people take notice. Lakyus was adept at appraising power by presence, but she got two vastly different impressions from the former squire of the Paladin Order. On the one hand her combat power seemed trivial compared to a legendary adamantite adventurer. But when she took her visor off and met Lakyus's eyes, the power of her presence was above and beyond the norm, as if the small woman took up the entire room.
Lakyus next appraised the other woman as she stepped out from behind Neia and took a place next to her, a pale girl wearing an unusual weapon and wearing an eye-patch. That one...that one bore a monstrous amount of combat power. Lakyus was uncertain she could fight evenly one on one with the woman.
Gagaran felt much the same, she felt a chill at the deadly looking eyes of Neia Baraja, and the considerable power of the woman beside her was nothing to laugh at.
The twins immediately jumped to a defensive posture when the gate opened, and that did not change when they felt the presence of the two women.
Evileye for her part, though comfortable at first, shouted, "Demon maid! Defensive positions! That one was with Jaldabaoth!"
Her team reacted instantly, leaping backwards that spread out their formation and gave them time to draw weapons or prepare spells, however the woman didn't so much as move before Neia snapped..."STOP! "WAIT!" and got between Neia and the five adventurers. It was enough to have them hold in mid draw, as it was not often that a human got in the way between adventurers and demons on purpose.
"She's free of Jaldabaoth, the Sorcerer King broke her compulsion and how she serves him. She's also my best friend, and here as my bodyguard as a result of some unpleasant circumstances on our last stopover before Wenmark." Neia said hastily, holding her arm out and her hand up to halt their actions.
Lakyus could only blink. "You were...with Jaldabaoth?"
"I was." She said.
"By choice?" Gagaran asked.
"No. No choice." CZ replied.
There were dumbfounded looks on the faces of the adventurers. "I know, its a bit much to take in." Neia said sympathetically.
"A...apologies for my rudeness, it was just a surprise." Evileye said from behind her mask, and bowed her head.
"You've got a demon maid...as a bodyguard?!" Gagaran said in shock.
"Yes." Neia said politely.
Neia looked to Evileye and quickly responded with acceptance of her apology, and her voice bore a warmth considerably different from her very scary face.
It snapped Lakyus out of her momentary sense of surprise, and she stood and did what she should and went to shake Neia's hand.
"Now, shall we get down to business?" Neia answered, cutting off further inquiry, and Lakyus began to brief her on everything she knew.
"I'm happy to help." Neia said, "But there are things that need to be said first."
Lakyus sat down with some trepidation. "Go on."
"The last time I came to you for help, my kingdom was on fire, my people were being eaten, and we were begging you to save us. You chose not to."
Blue Rose had the good grace to look somewhat ashamed. "However," she continued, "you also directed us to the people who could help, who did help, and because of you I found the one true god in this world, had you not done that, my kingdom would not exist. So...while I will not hold a grudge, at the same time I will not do this for nothing." She said simply.
"What do you want?" Lakyus asked curiously.
"I want your help, the next time I ask for it. Regardless of the risk." Neia answered.
"Aren't you just coming here specifically to help your people? Should you really ask for something out of that?" Lakyus said with some reproach.
""In other conditions you would be right, however these are not other conditions. You are on a contract for which you expressly are being paid by the crown. You expect me to assist you with that contract at no cost to myself, while I am taken away from a duty of my own for an indefinite period of time. You have already refused me your help once at a time of the most dire need any people could be in, if I assist you in this, I want your word I can turn to you when I need help myself. This seems a relatively trivial promise, given that your reputations are literally always on the line, wouldn't you agree?" Neia reasoned out politely, reflecting that her time with Tinamoc had made her fairly decent at bargaining.
Lakyus paused for a moment and nodded her acceptance. "If it does not violate the ethical standards of the adventurer guild, I accept your offer." She answered.
"And the rest of you?" Neia asked.
"Agreed." Evileye said immediately.
"Agreed." Gagaran said with some reluctance.
"Agreed." The twins replied together.
"Yes. Now...shouldn't we..." Neia began to say when they heard screaming and shouting outside the inn.
It didn't take but a moment's shared glance before the room emptied and the priest, Blue Rose, Neia, and CZ rushed outside to see what the commotion was.
"What's happened?!" Lakyus asked. "A body! A body has been found with its blood drained! Its at the edge of the Black Justice training field!" Someone shouted.
Lakyus whirled to the person who spoke, "Has it been moved?!" She demanded to know.
"No, a guard found it, the guards have gone to find the parents to see if its her." The man said.
"We need to get there...NOW." Neia said.
"I can show you where it is. The rest of you will have to follow." The priest said.
"CZ?" Neia said.
"Go it." She said flatly, and Neia climbed onto CZ's back, while she picked up the suddenly surprised priest and put him on her shoulder. "Which way?" CZ asked the priest.
He pointed towards the wall. "Um...over that wall." He said.
"OK." CZ replied, and she dashed, jumped, and in a few giant leaps was over the wall, leaving Blue Rose behind, stunned.
"Demon maids." Evileye said.
"Yeah." The twins said.
Lakyus shook her head, "Let's take the long way, but we're not going to take our time, MOVE." She snapped, and they broke into a run.
When they arrived on the scene, Neia was talking to the guard who found the child, and as she finished her exchange, he moved away, seemingly returning to the gate.
The city had a lot of noise behind them, but not enough to interfere at this distance.
As Lakyus approached, Neia began to move away and look over the body. When she stood over Neia's shoulder, Neia asked without looking back at her. "This the girl?" She asked sadly.
"I think so." Lakyus said she was about seven, wearing night clothes, and had the same hair and eyes.
"Shit." Neia said, as the rest of Blue Rose walked over.
Lakyus turned to her team. "It's her."
An oppressive sadness swept over them.
"The blood has been drained." Neia said.
"Vampire!" Lakyus snapped. "It had to be."
Neia shook her head. "No. Not a chance."
Lakyus wasn't listening. "You did this." She hissed at Ulthis. "You did this didn't you?" She asked.
He turned to her, confused at first, then surprised as she began to draw her sword.
Evileye got in front of him and came close to the advancing Lakyus, "Lakyus he did NOT do this!"
Ulthis staggered back, "I didn't, I'm innocent!" he said firmly.
"He's a vampire, of course he did this, this is what they do!" She snapped and tried to push past her, only for the stunned Gagaran and twins to rush to assist Evileye.
"He didn't!" Evileye said, and drew back her hand, and slapped Lakyus hard across the face, sending the woman spinning backwards. "He was with me, all night long, he COULDN'T have done this! He DIDN'T do this!" Evileye said.
"Just because he's a vampire, that doesn't mean he's guilty of everything bad that happens!" Evileye snapped.
Lakyus shook off the others in shock and brought her hand to her cheek, eyes filled with shock and with no small amount of hurt. "Get a hold of yourself!" Evileye snapped. "Not everything nonhuman is evil!"
Neia and CZ were watching these events passively, but Neia chose that moment to interrupt. "If you'd bother to listen to me, as I was saying, he did not do this." Neia said calmly, repeating what she'd said before.
"Lakyus, focus!" Neia said sharply, drawing the stunned blonde woman's eyes to her.
"How many vampires have you killed over the years?" Neia asked.
"Many." She said sharply, "Maybe one more to come."
"Eyes on me Lakyus!" Neia said, "I need your knowledge."
"How many of their victims have you seen?" She asked the leader of Blue Rose.
"Also many." Lakyus replied.
"And the rest of you?" Neia asked.
All four affirmed the same answer.
"In all the victims you've ever seen..." Neia said, "have you ever seen one where the throat was cut?"
That gave them a collective moment of hesitation.
"What was the weather last night?" Neia asked. "Was it warm?"
"Yes, just a bit." Tia said.
"This body is cold, she's been dead for hours, probably killed very soon after she was taken, she was killed by slashing her throat." Neia said. "I may not have fought as many vampires as you have, but I don't know any who treat their food this way. They may do a lot of things, but the best places to bite are on the arms, inner thigh, wrists, and neck. There are no marks on those places indicating a bite, and her throat was slashed. A vampire wouldn't need to slash her throat because she'd die from being drained. So...it wasn't a vampire."
Lakyus had calmed herself considerably.
"I'm...sorry...everyone." Lakyus bowed her head, "I...that..." she gestured to the girl.
"I get it." Neia said.
"Forgiven." Ulthis said, but kept his distance from her.
Evileye's mask had hidden tears behind it, but behind her tears, there was a resolution from which she would not retreat. She looked over at Lakyus. "When this is done, we need to talk." Her gaze went to the rest of the team, "All of us."
There were mute nods of acceptance, but Neia was paying no attention to it.
"There is no blood here. This isn't where she died." She said. "She was dumped here." The noise from the city had continued to rise as she spoke.
"Violence." CZ said.
"What...where?" Lakyus asked.
CZ pointed back to the city. "Riot."
"How..." Gagaran began.
"Heard it." CZ said flatly.
Neia began cursing. "I'm beginning to see what the problem is." She said sardonically. "CZ, Ulthis, guard the body, we can handle this."
CZ gave a very small frown. "No."
Neia rolled her eyes. "CZ..."
CZ shook her head again. "I guard the cute." She said, and put a sticker on Neia's cheek, prompting an exhasperated but warm smile. "Fine. Ulthis, just don't let anybody disturb the space or the body until we get back."
"On her life." Ulthis said softly.
Evileye envied the pair.
They raced back to the city to find a riot in full swing, all the rumors had said was that the body of a girl had been found drained of blood in the Black Justice training grounds, and that was enough...with a little egging on by the priests, to convince the people to riot to tear the temple down. The city guard had divided views, with the regular city guard joining the rioters, while the rest of the city guard that was made up of Black Justice members took up defensive positions. The common members of the temple benefited from their custom of remaining armed, and many of them had swords or spears with which they had ample practice, and they fought back.
The scene that presented itself to the company was one of utter chaos, some Black Justice members had obviously been caught by surprise and lynched, their bodies were being dragged along the ground, while others had time to resist and were fighting tooth and nail, despite being outnumbered. "What do you propose to do?!" Lakyus shouted to Neia.
For that, Neia turned to CZ. "Scare them."
The world exploded in the faces of Blue Rose, or seemed to, a storm of killing intent leapt up from the demon maid, it leapt out like ice and pierced flesh and hearts for a moment, froze as if afraid to beat for fear of attracting the eyes of the source of the violent killing hunger, it blew at courage like wind over sand, and except for the hardened team, the effect was immediate, the courage of rage became fear, and people broke into a run, many of them remaining sensible enough to find hiding places, but it gave Neia the opportunity she needed. With practiced ease CZ tossed Neia up to a roof, and that gave Blue Rose their next surprise, the power of the evangelist.
"You people of Kedyn, lend me your ears. I bear news of the dead! It is true that a child was found, and where, however it was no vampire among you who did this! It was a madman, consumed by evil, and I vow to you we will find them! I have with me the legendary adamantite team of Blue Rose, they have vowed to hunt down the true killer, so that this child can be honored by a proper burial! Will you disgrace her by killing and creating new victims?! Will you shame your children by leaving more parents to mourn?! Put down your arms, and let true justice carry the day by punishing the GUILTY! Who else must be punished other than the guilty?!"
"We know who did this!" Someone shouted.
"Do you?!" Neia asked loudly, "Were you there, did you see the killing and do nothing?!"
"N-No I..." He began.
"Then you know nothing!" She snapped.
"We WILL find the killer, and the guilty will suffer! I swear on your city! We will not rest, we will not sleep, we will not eat until the killer stands before you ready to pay for their crimes!" She shouted.
"Who wishes the guilty to be punished?!" She called out.
There were cheers.
"Shout it to god, let god here your call for justice! True justice! Not the random killing of a mad dog! Say it! Compel the earth itself to move with your call!"
"Justice! Justice! Justice! Justice! Justice!" The rage had turned to single purpose, the call rang from alley to street, and shook the Great Hall itself as if it were to batter down the door of the Marquis with the sound alone.
"I will give you justice! God will give you justice! She will not have died for nothing, but to rid evil from your streets! If you will have justice, then I will have your peace! Aid us when we come to you, aid Blue Rose, heroes of the people, we need your strength, but to use your strength we need your peace! Lay down your arms, go back to your homes, and let no one else mourn today, until it comes time to mourn together!" She shouted out.
It had a profound effect, and Neia jumped lightly down from the roof to a set of crates, and then twice more back down to the ground.
"Where...did you learn how to do that?" Gagaran asked.
"In death, I guess." Neia answered, "Well that and lots of practice." She said.
The breathing room allowed the guards to restore order, and the band returned to the body.
Lakyus watched intently as Neia worked. "Vampires have the ability to charm people into obedience. But this girl wasn't charmed." Neia said.
"How do you know?" Tina asked.
"She fought. Several of her nails are broken and her lip is cut open, someone slapped her or worse." Neia said.
"How do you know her nails were not just like that already?" Lakyus asked.
Neia held up a hand, "Some of them aren't, she's a nobleman's child, they're meticulous about grooming, no way she would have a few grown out and a few broken." She stood up and turned to the group.
"There are only five possibilities to start with..." Neia said and began ticking them off on her fingers.
“First, she left on her own. Second, she was lured out by someone she knew. Third, she was lured out by someone she did not know. Fourth, she was taken by someone against her will. Fifth, she was taken away by something else, for example a werewolf, vampire, and so on."
"But you said it wasn't a vampire." Lakyus said.
"Correct." Neia said. "So we've eliminated the fifth possibility, a Necromancer would have a use for the body, but she hasn't been turned. A werewolf would have eaten her, a vampire would have drained her, and she's been killed quickly with minimal violence somewhere else, then dumped here."
"That means she either left on her own and this was just a chance encounter with the wrong person, or she was lured to go out with a known person or a stranger, or she was taken against her will. I need to see her home." Neia said.
"Ulthis, stay with the body."
"Can you take us to the family home?" Neia asked Lakyus.
"We can." Lakyus said.
"Then lets go, the riot didn't really get a chance to start, but there is no certainty this peace will last, especially if the priests are trying to get it going again." Neia said.
As they walked, Neia continued to speak, "There are only a few reasons for someone to take a child. We can eliminate the motives of heteromorphs because no heteromorph did this. That leaves the following: The first is a ransom, she's from a wealthy family, but if ransom was the motive then there is no reason to leave the body where it will readily be found. Nor is there a reason to drain the blood first and dump the body elsewhere. The second reason is revenge, nobles have enemies, but if that were the motive then the draining of the blood first makes no sense, why bother with that? Simply put her down and dump her where she lay. The third is simple barbarism, violence for fun," Lakyus and the rest of her team looked sick, "I know, I feel the same way," Neia said at their expressions, "but if that was the case, why make it quick, she suffered one quick slash somewhere else and then dump the body, when somebody does something like this for fun, they usually enjoy much more brutality, so I don't think that was a motive. I think the killer had another motive. Furthermore, the body was dumped well outside the city, but where it would definitely be found, that took time, forethought, I think they wanted to frame Black Justice." Neia said grimly.
"NO!" Lakyus snapped.
"Why not?" Neia asked.
"Because..." She began, and failed to think of an answer and went quiet.
They arrived at the house of the Viscount, and heard sobbing inside, somebody had delivered the news. "You know them, you knock." Neia said to Lakyus, and grimly, the adamantite adventurer knocked on the door.
A pale and sad faced servant boy answered the door, and Lakyus asked for the Viscount and his wife.
"They're in mournin miss, not seein anyone." The boy said.
"That is what I'm here about." Lakyus said.
The boy reluctantly let them in, and went to get the Viscount, he came to the door at the boy's behest and when he saw who it was, he snapped out, "Any more false promises?!"
Lakyus bowed her head. "I'm sorry, we tried, but we couldn't..." she paused, "all we can do is find her killer."
"May you have better luck." He said with a mix of dejection and anger.
"We have someone who may be able to help." She said, and Neia stepped out from the group.
"How can you help?" He asked doubtfully.
"Easier to show you than to explain." She said, "Please, take me to your daughter's room, and please have your wife join us." Neia said, and a few moments later she found herself in the dead girl's quarters. She began to pace the room and look around, then walked out the door, looked around, and came back in. From where Blue Rose stood, not to mention the Viscount, it seemed absurdly strange. After a short period of pacing, Neia approached the open window. It was roughly at the height of her head, and it allowed her to see out into a small grassy area by the house.
Neia turned to the assembly, "I need you all to do exactly as I say for a little while. Understood?"
There were nods of agreement from those present, and then Neia asked the mother, "Is this window left open at night?"
The woman shook her head. "No."
"Was it open when you realized she was gone this morning?" Neia asked.
She thought for a moment, "Yes."
"When it is closed, do you have it kept locked?" Neia asked.
"Yes." She said.
"OK, first we have to eliminate a possibility. Evileye, I want you to go to your knees below the window, and I want you to try to get up to it without using any extraordinary abilities. That should put you about the same height as the little girl." Neia said, and with some hesitation, Evileye approached the place in the wall, went to her knees, and tried to reach up, after several attempts, she could only get up enough to touch the bottom of the window.
"We have now eliminated another possibility." Neia said. "There is no way that child opened that window and climbed out on her own. Even if it were left open, she simply could not reach unassisted. Even if she used a chair or something to climb up, well...who put it back? Something like that should still be here at the window." Neia concluded.
She took out a short dagger, "Lakyus, go outside and look for impressions at the window and then tell us what you see, and take this." She said, handing her the dagger.
Lakyus went out the door and around to the side of the house. "What do you see?" Neia asked.
"A pair of footprints." Lakyus said.
"Are they deep, large, small?" Neia asked.
"They're large." Lakyus replied.
"And deep?" Neia asked.
"Considerably." Lakyus said.
"Very good, I'll come out in a moment, but first take out the dagger." Neia said, and then closed and latched the window.
"Try to get the window open." Neia said.
Lakyus took the dagger and slid it between the two shutters, it fit easily enough, but then there was a problem, as she tried to lift the latch, she found that the clasp holding closed was stuck, it required ample force and made a fair amount of noise. Neia closed the shutters again, resecured the window, then lifted it up from her side with total silence. "Do it again Lakyus." Neia said.
Again Lakyus tried to force it open with a dagger from the other side, but the wood was so tight and the latch so tight, that again it made considerable noise. Neia frowned and closed it again.
"Evileye, go lay on the bed, plug your ears, and my lord, would you close the door to her room and stand in the hallway, and my lady, would you return to your room and close your door. Return when you hear the noise or I call for you." She said.
Though confused, they obeyed, and Neia signaled for Lakyus to 'break in' again. And again breaking in took a fair amount of effort and made considerable noise as the shutters popped open with enough force that they hit the wall.
"Evileye, did you hear that?" Neia asked?
"I did." Evileye replied.
A moment later the door opened and both the Viscount and his wife entered the room. "What is the point of all this?!" The nobleman snapped.
"It's this." Neia said, and she closed the shutters, latched them, and then opened them again from the inside with minimal effort, no notable noise, and caught the shutters before they could fly open and risk making a racket.
"If the person breaking in had to pry his way in, the noise would have awakened your daughter, and possibly yourselves, even if they didn't wake you up, the noise should have frightened them off." Neia said. "Wait here." She said, and she walked out of the house and around to where Lakyus was standing, and she looked down at the impressions. She knelt down to them while a confused Lakyus looked on. "He was wearing armor. Plate. Nothing cheap." Neia said.
"How can you..." Lakyus began.
"Step away and look at yours next to his." Neia said. They were smaller, much more shallow.
"His feet aren't that big for his prints to be that deep, either he was a demihuman with human feet, or he was a human in full armor." Neia said.
Lakyus went quiet and followed Neia back to the child's bedroom.
"Now, m'lord, would you please try to climb into the open window?" Neia asked.
The Viscount looked confused, but keeping his promise, he went around to the window, and climbed through with relative ease. "Now, Gagaran, try to do the same thing, keep your armor on, and be as quiet as you can. But before you come in, stand next to the impressions under the window for a few minutes, we'll wait." Neia said.
Gagaran went around to the window, and after a few minutes Neia asked her, "How deep are your impressions on the grass compared to those directly at the window?"
"About the same." Gagaran said.
"I thought so." Neia said.
"Now, try to climb in quietly." Gagaran began to climb through, but the armor made a horrible racket. "Anyone doubt THAT wouldn't have been heard?" Neia asked as she put her back to Gagaran and gestured over her shoulder with her fist closed and thumb out.
"OK so I know a few things." Neia said.
"I know it was a man in full plate armor who knew where the child's room was and how to get her. He knew the window would be open, when it would be, and he waited out there for several minutes, and what is more, I know somebody inside the house was helping him."
The shouts of "What?!" Could have deafened the gods.
"Someone made sure that window was open." Neia said, and someone handed the child to the person outside, someone the child knew, someone the child trusted. I need to question everyone in the house."