Chapter 5
Smack!
The sound reverberated through the forest nearby. "You were seen?" Corvik Colvras, Grandmaester of the Militant Order of Lust of the Republic of Calibrum, threw a second punch at the hobgoblin standing before him. It sent the creature crashing to the ground. "By lowly stupid humans? You, my elite Order of Lust, were seen by lowly human townguards?" His shortsword appeared in his hand and he turned, striding away. The tail of his longcoat swept out, flaring in the fading light. His ornate coat was decorated with the insignias of his position and his kills, as befitted a Grandmaester.
"My elite maesters, seen, spotted, caught out! My beautiful plan marred, disrupted, disturbed!" He tossed the blade from hand to hand as he paced back and forth, ranting angrily. "One little task! Just set a fire to keep them distracted! Two, one in town and one near their little lordy thing, simple wonderful distractions and you flaked!"
"My maester-" one of the three subordinates began to interject, but with sudden violence Corvik stabbed their hand, pinning it to a tree. His victim slammed his own fist into his mouth and bit down to keep from screaming.
“We are here to find the most valuable thing in the history of the Republic! Do you understand? Of course you do! I have told you this. So why were you so stupid and inept as to be seen? Supressa, explain!" He commanded with a withering growl. A summoning gone awry, and now he was out in the backwater of the human kingdom, hunting some legendary ranger dragon beast because the fools in the Order of Sloth couldn’t do their own tasks correctly. Why must they always force him to pick up their slack?
The third of his three subordinates, the only one not a hobgoblin, bowed. She swept back her long green tresses so she could see him clearly.
"Yes, my maester," the drow elf replied, green eyes bright. "What Asrag was about to say was, it was not originally the humans who saw us. It was a massive iruxi in a cage in the square. I do not believe he saw me, as he made no mention of drow or elves, only hobs, but he did shout out hobgoblins were attacking. Despite being a prisoner, everyone obeyed him." She knelt before Corvick as she finished.
"What the fuck? What swamp addled lizard shit is this now?" Corvik demanded. "Egg-sucker! How dare you impede me!" He screeched.
He stopped, turning back to the Supressa, "An iruxi? Our target, perhaps? If he were strong, of course they would obey. How would he be a prisoner then? A strong fool perhaps? Yes, an understandable explanation. We should make sure of it. Where is the Godstone to use in sealing him?" He would need the stone to bind the creature’s will and secure it for the Republic. If they let it run free, it would unleash havoc as the Black Destroyer had done in their capitol.
A halfling rushed forward, wearing a slim and pretty collar. "Here, my maester." He knelt and held up a box.
Corvik opened the box, closed it, stashed it in a belt pouch, then patted the halfling on his head. "Excellent Bassin, excellent. Now leave."
The halfing stood, bowed, and left without another word or wasted motion. "Hmmmmm Supressa, Asrag, Doxen, Take a third of our forces each, except the Epsil team, I will take them when they return. Begin an assault against the city walls, burn anything you need to. Take prisoners, lots of prisoners. Don't worry about winning, you'll be a distraction. Make use of the gifts the cavern dweller gave us. We'll draw our target out and bind him. I will handle that. Pack everything, we move in ten minutes. If he's real, nothing we do will truly endanger him. These humans are weak, even the soldiers and their 'knights' will not match against my Lust!"
"Yes, my maester!" Their voices intoned, genuflecting before him.
"Ahahahahahahaha, this will be delightful!"
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"Mara!" He heard Catherine’s voice scream out in terror so fierce it ripped into his soul. He knew that terror. He felt it in his soul.
The burning flames of the market stands, the shredded corpses, the broken bodies, the scent of burning flesh so clear in August’s mind. Memories of the screams of pain, of anguish, of fear so visceral it sliced open the soul and destroyed thought. His wife Kaameh… The explosion had ripped through the open street market. In a moment a happy, smiling shopping trip was horror and pain. He’d crawled through the rubble, towards a broken body, tears and worse streaming down his face… Not Kaameh. Not his Kaameh. Laila needed her mother, she needed…
On instinct, he’d begun bending open the bars to escape even as his conscious thoughts were trapped in his painful memories. "NO!" He roared out, to his own surprise. Sit here and wait? Wonder? Fear? He couldn't! He wouldn't! Not again!
"Never Again!" August shouted, literally pulling his cage apart as a familiar face went running past him in stark and desperate terror. He landed on the ground with a grunt and immediately took off in pursuit as she ran towards the burning manor house.
She was swift, faster than him, but she had crowds and obstacles to manage. No one impeded him. They were too scared - not that he noticed.
"Catherine! Wait!"
She paid no heed, dashing straight towards the manor. The flames burned high, covering half the house. People streamed out of it, and some of them were fighting. Three Hobgoblins battled four unarmored women. They were armed though. They pressed the hobs back using just their own ferocity.
The four women seemed to be in a formation. They had anchored their center with the black woman, Ser Oomori, the only one whose name he remembered. She held a shield which she used to block strikes against herself and the others. On her left was the pink haired knight, wielding two swords and striking at the hobs before hiding behind the shield to avoid counter attacks. The third woman was one of the two catfolk he’d seen. She had tan fur and had some kind of claw-like weapons on top of her paws. She’d make a slashing attack every now and then if she saw an opening, but mostly she just seemed to be there to improve their defense.
In the back was the other catfolk woman, wielding a long spear. She’d reach past the rest to strike with it from the safest position. Her silver fur was splotched with blood in several places. The others didn’t have such obvious signs of injury.
All three hobs were lightly armored and carried bladed weapons. One wielded a small buckler and short blade, another a long thin blade, and the last used a scimitar. They attacked with good coordination, and the fight seemed even.
Catherine sent up a dust cloud as she skidded to halt in front of the manor, exuding a sense of mounting dread. “Mara! Where are you? MARA!!!!” she screamed. No voice answered. August didn’t think she even saw the battle happening in front of the fire. She seemed fixed on the flames.
“Don’t! Those flames could kill you!” August shouted at her. She ignored him and started charging anyway. His hand reached out and snagged her entire upper arm to stop her.
“MARA! I have to find Mara!” she shouted at him, tears staining her terrified face. Not fear for herself, but for Mara, whoever that was. She was struggling to tear her hand free of him, eyes watching the manor burn.
“Around back!” Ser Oomori shouted. “She ran out the back with the steward and her father!” said Ser Oomori. One of the hobgoblins attacked while she was distracted. His target was the catfolk fighting to Ooomori’s right. A sword stabbed into the feline at the shoulder, sending her to the ground with a howl of pain.
“Mercia!” screamed the other catfolk, surging forward to drive off the hobgoblins for a few seconds. Catherine bolted towards the corner of the house when he let go of her in surprise at seeing the catfolk drop. He forgot Catherine for a moment as more memories played. A soldier dropping to the ground in a spray of blood as they were ambushed. Being shoved to the ground, helpless, powerless to do anything. He had to watch other people do all the work as he crouched behind cover. He hated that feeling.
August surged forward, roaring. “No you don’t!” he challenged the hobs, looking the attacker dead in the eyes as he charged barehanded. Two of them turned in shock to face him, leaving themselves open to attack. He fixed his gaze on the third of them as he charged. It crumpled to the ground and stopped moving.
He crashed into the remaining enemies before the other knights could counterattack. He tackled the first one and carried it to the ground. He struck the other with his tail, once, twice. It fell to the ground, skull caved in even as prior wounds still bled.
He wisely ignored the implications of what he’d just done as he focused instead on why he’d done it. He’d stopped the attack. “What’s her condition?” he asked, gruff voice belying his genuine concern. He stayed on top of the last remaining hobgoblin.
“Just a moment, move aside Marta!” Ser Oomori chided the catfolk desperately clutching her wounded friend. “Let me treat her, you idiot!” she shoved the catfolk back with the help of the pink-haired knight. Once the silver furred catfolk was restrained, Ser Oomori set to work. At least, he was fairly sure he’d worked out Mercia and Marta as the two catfolk women, and which was which.
“She’ll be fine,” the woman said after a moment, and then a glow surrounded her. “By grace be cleansed, by grace made whole,” she incanted. The glow flowed from her into the injured Mercia, and her wound closed. She scooted back as the other cat was released and rushed to hold Mercia. Mercia, smiling brightly now that she was healed, licked the worried Marta playfully.
“Fine, see love?” she teased her. “Now let me up.”
“Thank you,” the pink haired knight said to August. “We might have lost the battle…” Coal didn’t stay still long enough to listen once he knew none of the women were in further danger for a few seconds.
“Take this one, I have to go after Catherine!” The fear maddened maid had disappeared around the corner, and he had no idea where she was. He couldn’t afford to let her get hurt. He just… couldn’t. He picked up the hobgoblin he had tackled and threw him unarmed to the knights as he charged round the corner.
“Wait! Master Glitters!” the woman called after him, but he paid no heed as he charged off to find the distraught woman.
“Damnit,” he cursed to himself. His conscience was pulling him in several directions and now he’d lost track of Catherine!
The Manor was larger than any house he'd ever been in but not much larger than a unit of apartments, and he rounded it quickly. Catherine was nowhere, but three bodies lay on the ground, while a fourth struggled forward desperately, unable to even crawl. The man's legs did not move as he dragged himself forward on arm strength alone.
"You, you are he! The jotun-rank," he groaned out. "My lady ran inside to find, and then came the attackers and- your things, I have, your-" he coughed up blood as August went to his knees next to the man.
Blood covered the body, torn clothes showed evidence of bladed weapons, stab wounds. Was it luck or cruelty the man should thank for not being dead yet? Memory of the traumas he’d endured in that middle-eastern hell sprang to mind, however they were not alone. Training in trauma reaction, conditioning not to let the traumas bury him, a decade of therapy trying to help those memories be not a burden.
He reached for his bag, lying at the man's side. His swords were missing, as was his armor. His belt and bag remained. That meant there was hope, he could still help. "Don't give up! I owe you big, and I don't renege on debts!" He swore to the man, digging out the potion concealed within. With those wounds, he selected a red potion in a clear vial, adorned with a six on the stopper. He ripped it off with his teeth as he opened the man's mouth. "Drink!" He commanded, and to his relief the man obeyed.
"I… I still cannot feel my legs yet… the pain is gone! Master warrior, please, my lady is in the house still!"
"Where is Catherine?"
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"She went after lady Maralee! Please, help us, I beg you! I've no right but the lady is a child! Please!"
A pause, a halt. A child? Mara, that was who Catherine had screamed for. "I'm on it!" He roared out. Charging recklessly into fire? Only a fool would charged into a burning building. A fool or someone resistant to fire. He was definitely one of those things. The flames had only just spread here, yet somehow that didn't worry him. At least, any fear was not for his own self.
He saw a smashed door, guessing Catherine had broken it down to get inside. He ran straight into the building. He’d find Catherine and the girl and get them out. His eyes locked onto footprints, three sets running into the building. He didn’t know why he could see them so clearly. The slight steps of a young or small person, the ridiculously long gait of a hobgoblin, and last the forceful steps of Catherine.
The footprints led inside. August followed them as quickly as he could, steps pounding the carpet covered wooden floor as he chased down Catherine. He ran through flames and smoke alike almost as if they weren’t there as he followed the prints.
His quarry couldn’t be far, the footprints skipped two sets of stairs already and were approaching the center of the building. He was sure he'd find them soon, but who-
The wall next to him creaked, groaned, and broke apart as something was smashed into it. A hobgoblin’s corpse tumbled out of the broken wall and landed at his feet. He heard a howl of anger and found his quarry.
Catherine stood beyond the broken wall. While she still wore the same outfit, her entire demeanor had changed. Her face was locked in a snarl, a golden maul more than half her height was gripped in both white knuckled hands. She was burned and singed, her outfit was smoldering. A sinister aura, almost black, seemed to surround her in a haze.
Before her stood a second hobgoblin, shield splintered and spear shaking. "Wha… but… how…?" The creature choked out, and turned to run. Catherine gave it no chance to get away, swinging her golden maul on it with all the force her body could muster. Her swing slammed into the hob’s back and threw it to the floor, writhing in pain.
"Where is Mara? Mara! Bring her to me now, you vile cretin!" She cursed him, raising the hammer high. "Answer me!" She shouted, and it hurt to hear her go from the kindness she’d shown him to this snarling anger. “Answer and I will kill you swiftly!”
"I don't know! I truly don't know! Do you want the girl? I don’t have her! I don’t know!"
"Then die!" She screamed. August was frozen as she swung the hammer down upon it, crushing its skull.
"Miss Catherine!"
"You! What? The cage?" She deflated when she saw him. Confusion and surprise replaced the rage she’d held a second before. August saw desperation take hold next. "They took my Mara! They took her grandfather, they took her mother, now someone took my Mara! I… are you… I don't have time. I'm tracking her down and killing anything in my way!" She growled and charged past him.
August instinctively tried to stop her from going alone. He knew how that would end. The middle-east had taught him that. She instinctively swung her maul at him when he got in her way, just as promised.
The blow smashed into his unarmored chest.. He barely felt the impact as his tough scales absorbed the blow. He didn’t even flinch. "Slow down! If you rush in again! It's a miracle the fire hasn't done more harm! We need to get out! Don't rush in alone like this!" He grabbed her hand and marched straight for the front door. He had a good head for architecture, it had to be right… there! On fire.
"I'll smash a way clear!" He said in a loud voice, as the sound of creaking wood and crackling flames began to rule the air. He picked a wall that shouldn't be load bearing and simply smashed straight through it. There was no time!
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Ser Franklin Starr had just gotten the idiot guards to accept her authority by literally putting her foot on the idiot Sergeant-at-arm's neck when the wall behind her gave way in an explosion of wood and debris. Too far to cause harm on the other side of the small creek, but close enough to make everyone jump. She remained in control enough to keep her foot planted exactly where it was, but she still flinched back and drew a sword.
The iruxi Coal came bursting out the hole and stumbled to a stop, turning to check on someone following him out. It was the elf, Merelidia. Franklin wasn’t shocked to see she was covered in burns, her uniform damaged. It was more of a surprise she was alive. She was also surprised to see Merelidia was wielding the golden maul from the Mayor’s study.
"In the name of Mystery…" Anna breathed in shock behind her.
"You!" The maid called to Franklin as she suddenly strode forward. "I require your assistance! They took Mara!"
"Took Maralee?" Franklin's reply betrayed her confusion over this latest string of events. How did they catch her? Was the Mayor dead then, or captured?
"They have my granddaughter you nitwit! You must help me get her back!" Catherine demanded angrily.
Granddaughter? Wasn't this just a maid? That hammer had been on display in the study, yet looked so natural in the elf maid's hands - Mara, Maralee, the Mayor’s daughter, same hair as the maid, same eyes as the maid. It clocked
"She's your grand- no! Stop! Wait! I have a town burning down around me and a pack of Hobgoblins days beyond the border doing the burning and now they've just randomly kidnapped the Lord's daughter and I Do Not Have Time!" Franklin insisted as she brought her mind under control to grasp this mess of a situation. Where were her soldiers?
"Make time!" Merelidia snapped back in a furious snarl.
"Can't you do something?" The iruxi, Coal, suddenly cut in, far more calm, almost pleading.
"I seriously can't!" They wanted her to save one person out of hundreds in this mess? She was a knight, not a miracle worker! "I'm not even on top of the fires yet!"
Coal’s eyes gazed out over the town, a fearsome gleam alighting in them. He was silent for only a few moments, then started giving orders. "Demolish the buildings surrounding the fire, in a direction away from the fires. Apply water to the buildings you're bringing down constantly. Do you have pumps? If not use a bucket line, barrels, wheelbarrows, anything water tight. Mobilize everyone and maybe you can save half the town. Abandon all the burning buildings, you won't save them with things like this... Abandon the manor too, no one else inside is alive. Send someone for the injured man and three corpses around the side. His spine is damaged, he can't walk. You have two prisoners. Let's get them talking."
“Why would we listen-” the sergeant under her foot tried to speak up, but Franklin pressed him back down. Idiot and fool might get them all killed. Even without the mess she was more convinced than ever no one present could stop Coal if he decided to use force to get his way.
“Why what? Listen?” Coal demanded an answer, sarcasm lacing his voice as he continued. “Why listen to the stranger, the lizard, the iruxi, the monster, the prisoner, the thief? BECAUSE I KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT! I studied this shit! LISTEN UP! Your town will burn! Many will die, and more after! Starvation is ugly, and fire is uglier! You can still save much of this town! I promise you that! Do as I say!”
“How do we bring down buildings?” a voice piped up from the growing crowd.
“Have you no architects? Have you no carpenters? Saws, hatchets, axes, swords, hammers? Break the wood, chip the wood, split the wood, chop the wood, knock out the stone and the steel! Knock the houses down, deny the fire its fuel! That will stop the spread! Stop the spread and THEN you can try to save what already burns. If you try to save what is burning first, you will lose everything! DO AS I SAY!” These last four words, he roared. The townsfolk snapped to obey.
Franklin could only stare in shock for a brief moment before turning back to the coal black… well, back to Coal. She took a moment to pull in a breath to steady herself. The creature was dangerous, but clearly not irrational. He didn't even seem to hold a grudge. She’d have to gamble for whatever cooperation he gave. It might turn their situation around.
“We have one prisoner,” Franklin corrected Coal, now that she had the beginning of a plan.
“One? Only one of your three attackers was killed. The other fainted and I captured the third,” Coal countered, clearly confused by her statement. Did he not know?
“Fainted? He’s dead. Best I can tell, he died of a heart attack at the sight of you,” she scoffed, confused at Coal’s actions.
“He’s DEAD? But that would mean, that would mean- ‘Scare to Death.’ I should have noticed, realized, fuck, fuck FUCK!” he screamed suddenly, tail lashing the ground as he stared skyward. “I killed him. I fucking killed him by accident then, and I killed the other on purpose. I killed them both…” he seemed to trail off as he stared into space. Then he smacked himself on either cheek and shook his head. “Bring the remaining prisoner! We must get information. If we know what they want, it may lend a clue to why they took the young girl or where she is.”
"That is a sound idea,” Franklin agreed. She couldn’t control him. “Do as you please, I must organize the chaos. Anna! Find a horse, ride to the camp, we need our soldiers. The camp is less defensible. Sergeant!!!" She snapped at the man beneath her feet, letting him up finally. "Assemble your militia! We must defend your town and kill these monsters. I, Knight-Lieutenant Ser Franklin, am in command!"
"Yes, My lord!" Shouted all the assembled guards and militia. The sergeant was a half-step late in his response, face disgusting with its anger and hatred, but his obedience, not his like, was what she demanded.
"Man the walls! Those not suppressing the fire as instructed are to defend the town! Your armory, it was in the house?"
Hatred glowed in that face, but only for a short second longer, then defeat showed. "No, The armory is in the guard houses, Ser!"
"Get it. You will distribute your armory for the defense. I will command from here for now." Her current location was the entrance to the manor grounds. She had a good view of the walls and the town from here. It would do for the moment.
The sergeant saluted, fist over heart, and marched away. One task was cleared. Coal and the maid, Merelidia, were now interrogating their prisoner.
"Franklin, love! Ser Maglin has arrived!" Anna ran back to her after being gone less than a minute. "I've dispatched Sir Atticus to bring new orders to camp. They've brought two squads already!" Behind her came twenty one soldiers.
"Maglin! You're answering my original orders, correct?" she barely gave the man a chance to acknowledge her presence before she pressed him.
"Yes, My Lord!" He replied, coming to a halt.
"Drat, I was hoping you'd say you were just the advance party. Anna, take a squad, we've got to-"
"I will take them. You want to make sure the message isn't stopped halfway, right?" Marta interrupted, returned at last. "Give me some men," she asked, showing her teeth in a massive grin. "I want to bring the weight of a legion down on these hobs for hurting my Mercia," she growled.
"Go then. Maglin, give ‘er five, then go man the wall, I’m putting you in charge’a organizing our first line of defense. I need men who know the local woods! Maps too, all they’ve got!”
As people scrambled to obey, she saw Marta go riding away on horseback, a squad of soldiers on horses borrowed (and rescued, she could add) from the mayor’s stables following her. Two officers, two knights, as well as fifteen soldiers. She smiled when she saw Borway, Atticus’s spear-leader, had stayed while sending his rod-holder with Marta. Good, she’d need him. “Borway! I hate to do this, but give your men to Grawni! I’m puttin you in charge of organizing all these militia! With Maglin busy and Atticus gone, you got to get it done! Use the idiot sergeant as a rod-holder and get ‘em into formations we can depend on!”
“At once, My lord!” Borway responded, saluting fist to heart and turning to unleash a tirade of clear and concise orders upon the nearby townsfolk who had martialled out to serve as militia. Wall, fires, arms, militia, legion… just left information… Franklin turned to walk to Coal and the maid.
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Catherine forcefully slapped the captured hobgoblin awake. Coal saw now that it was a woman, though her armor did not make that immediately obvious. She wore a mask and did not emphasize her figure. He’d never looked at a hobgoblin up close. She had very large bat-like ears and a sloping smooth face without eyebrows, covered in ritual scars. She was around 5’2” and there didn’t seem to be any fat, just lean muscle, with arms longer than a human and legs a little shorter. Her eyes were a single solid yellow as they opened, a strange contrast against her green-gray skin. The only real color to her were her lips and nostrils. Blue lips, red nostrils. She was entirely bald. Despite all that, she honestly was a little pretty, or maybe because of it. He couldn’t have said.
“Good, you’re awake,” he greeted her. Catherine stood nearby, her maul held in both hands like she intended to use it.
The prisoner was bound with ropes and chains and manacles, propped up against a convenient piece of the wall near the manor. “I am Coal. You will answer my questions. You will answer truthfully. I will hear your lies. I will smell your deceit. I have not eaten much today. So you will answer, and avoid bad endings and being food.”
His eyes remained fixed on hers, and he hoped there was no quaver to his voice as he tried to use the apparently powerful intimidation skill he possessed against her. Eat her? Hell no! He wasn’t going to eat people! However, Catherine had said some iruxi were known to eat other intelligent creatures, so it would make an effective intimidation tactic.
She was gagged, forcing her to nod emphatically. “I’m taking out the gag.” He reached out with his claws. He exercised extreme care, grasping the gag with only the tips of his claws. He didn’t want to accidentally further mar his prisoner’s face. He didn’t want to know how bad he could hurt her by accident.
She drew in a breath, and then still frightened, summoned the courage to speak. “I am honored to be the first to greet you face to face, oh champion from beyond the world.” Coal’s mind blanked for a moment. What had she said?
“You know her?” Catherine asked, sounding surprised.
“I know of him!” the hobgoblin excitedly claimed. “He is the one we seek! The Champion from beyond the world! Mightiest warrior and hunter, the one born of dragons! I am pleased today to be Maestra Maladictus Molevetus. I am pleased that I should be first to offer greetings to someone so overpowering! When you killed my brother with a single glance, I knew it had to be you!”
“Coal, what in the name of Mystery is she talking about? Are you, no, ridiculous, but why does she know you?” Catherine demanded, confused and frantic.
“I don’t know! I only have guesses,” he answered swiftly, frantic in his own right. “I… I swear on my life I will explain, but aren’t we supposed to be interrogating her?”
“Yes, aren’t you?” a new voice cut in, and Franklin stepped forward, pink hair glowing in the light of the still burning manor.
“We are just beginning, Ser Knight,” Catherine replied. She glanced at Coal before fixing her eyes on the hob. “I have questions.”
“I am honored to answer them!” Maladictus replied, still excited, and breathing fast as though- oh that idea did not please him. She was looking at him the way a dog looks at its master when they are holding a treat, or- he didn’t have time for this.
“Stop looking at Master Coal like a lost dog and focus on me. Where have you taken the captives? Why would you take anyone else, when he is your target?”
“We are the Grand Order of Lust. Capturing pretty prisoners for our glorious Republic is our primary mission most days. Expectation demands we take them at any opportunity. A well bred girl has many uses as a servant once broken in, not least of which is bookkeeping. Slaves cannot always read and are rarely educated. As to where, they will be at the camp. A temporary camp is established less than a mile from the city, deep in the woods.”
“Did you or yours kill the local knight?” Franklin interjected.
Maladictus glanced at Franklin, then turned her gaze back to Coal, waiting with an expectant look. “Answer her.”
“Of course we did. He saw us. He fought hard and was slain,” she answered immediately. “I did not take part.”
Thus far, as disturbed as August was by her, he did not get the sense she lied. Rather, he got the sense she wanted desperately to tell him the truth and nothing else, as though entranced by him. She shivered in fear beneath his gaze, yet the shiver seemed only to make her more aroused.
“Where will they have her now? If they are after me, do they know I am here? Who took her? What will they do with her short term?”
“Short term?” she asked, perplexed. Her head tilted to the side.
“In the next few hours or minutes,” he explained with decreasing patience.
“Tie her up and put her with the rest. As to what will be done about you… I do not know if anyone knows you are here, but I suspect they do. It is probable you will be sought out. She will be put somewhere ready for transport while our grandmaester comes for you.”
“How many of you are there, what resources do you have?”
“We number about three score, or we did. Less now, I think. We also had undead we took from the cavern dweller.” She shivered again at this.
“Cavern dweller?” Coal and Franklin asked at the same time.
“An ancient thing locked deep in a vault in the Maw to the west of here. There is a route through the caverns, which is how we entered behind your borders,” Maladictus explained, gaze still fixed on him.
“Alright, I have a plan. I and Catherine will track down Mara. Perhaps we can lure some of them away from town and distract them if they are looking for me. I guess you’ll have to defend the town,” he said to Franklin. “You said undead? What kind? How many?”
“Many ancient skeletons, long stripped of flesh. They obey only simple commands, but we have some two hundred we have herded here. We had planned to use them as a distraction later on if we were here longer, but as we found you so swiftly, I would hasten to imagine our maester will use them soon.”
“Two hundred skeletons…” Franklin muttered, eyes widening. “Shit. I’m glad we’re behind the walls. We need the legion to arrive. Gag her please, we have much to do.”
Coal nodded, giving the gag to Catherine to replace it now that his intimidation was finished. He looked out over the town. Several patches of flames were burning lower, and the sound of crashing buildings was audible. It appeared his orders about the fires were being followed.
“Alright. Catherine, let’s find their trail near the manor. Ser… Franklin, right?” She nodded. He extended a hand. “Good luck. Once we’ve found the girl, we’ll return to help,” he promised. “But… I cannot leave a child in the hands of kidnappers. I…”
She shook her head. “I understand. I’m glad for any help you can offer, and I can’t stop you anyways. I wouldn’t want to, even if I was strong enough. Good luck,” she accepted his handshake.
Now it was time for, well it was time to see just what else Coal could do.