Suspicions
She was fully equipped and, in addition, received some bread from Jas for the journey. She even got an offer to rest for a while or have a substantial meal, but promised not to waste any more time. She only had time to stuff herself with the boosters and say goodbye to Jasmine, who wished her good luck.
She left the blonde’s flat, as she always did, through the window onto the narrow street behind the tenement . There were a lot of guards hanging around Rey and she didn’t want to take any chances and waste time running away, so she entered the sewer without thinking. She didn’t have to walk for long either as the Rey district was only separated from the BrickStreet by a central wall. The walk took her a short while and when she was in the designated place she carefully left the sewers.
She stepped out near the main square to look around the district a bit. She paid attention to her surroundings more as usual but now focused mainly on the guards. Something stank about this case and she decided that she would check something first before getting into trouble. She had a preliminary plan ready and started by looking for a suitable vantage point to observe the movements of the guards and maybe even try to break into the police station.
With a slow step, she moved north, walking at a safe distance behind one of the patrols that happened to be in her way. The patrol consisted of three sharp-armed men, an elf, a faun and an earthy man with the head of a cat, the last one she would have even stroked, but her hatred of entia could not outweigh her love of cats, so she gave up the thought.
She walked at a safe distance behind them and watched the men intently. They were immersed in conversation, completely ignoring what was going on around them. She didn’t know if they were doing it on purpose or if they were alert and just pretending to be relaxed. Maybe they even knew they were being followed? Ivy decided it was time for a test to find out.
She hid behind a pillar of one of the buildings and blended in with the crowd. When she was sure no one could see her she pulled out one of her knives and aimed it at the back of some huge cyclops. For such a powerful creature, it was barely a scratch, but even so, the delinquent was greatly annoyed. It started looking around and shouting sideways and throwing itself at passers-by. Ivy, meanwhile, crossed her arms over her chest and leaned comfortably against a pillar, watching the scene she herself had directed.
It only took a moment for a troll and a gnome riding a golem to join the brawl. The rest of the onlookers also thought it was fun, but when a stone pillar turned to rubble they all started running for their lives. And the guards? The guards stood like pegs and helped to lead the civilians out of the square, one rushed somewhere ahead, probably to get support. But in a way that was what she cared about so now she just had to wait.
She bounced lightly off a pillar with her foot and hid in one of the alleys somewhere in the shadows to have a good field of vision and herself remain unnoticed. After a few minutes the group of troublemakers was dealt with by a whole support unit and the unfortunates were handcuffed and dragged off for interrogation, which was a pity, because when one of them grabbed a decorative tree which he had torn out of its roots, things started to get interesting. But she didn't fuss for long because now she had to concentrate on following her target. She took extra care not to fall in while tracking as she hid in piles of rubbish to mask her scent, and in the shadows of buildings and stalls to be unnoticeable to scouts.
By the time she reached the station building it was already afternoon. The biggest challenge, however, was yet to come. She had to somehow enter the guard headquarters and remain unnoticed. Most of the staff may have been focused on the new prisoners but that was not reason enough to ignore the guards.
She watched the building for a long moment until she finally entered the side of the warehouse where fewer guards were hanging around and prepared accordingly. She made sure her hood and scarf covered her face and she had a supply of weapons and bombs on hand in case she escaped. She preferred not to kill anyone but of course did not rule out the possibility. She quietly crept inside and listened carefully to her surroundings.
She took advantage of the fact that the prisoners were making a lot of commotion and most of her forces were concentrated on the escort and the other half were busy surveying the wrecked square collecting evidence and questioning witnesses. She now had to focus on a specific target and as if from the sky a guard who stood out in the crowd fell to her. He was dressed differently from the rest. Looking at his epaulettes and the tassels sewn to them, she easily determined that he was a captain, meaning he stood at the head of the troops on the BrickStreet, perfect for her.
Someone like him had to know what was going on in his area and by extension, he could know the most about disappearances of all. She was now following the man closely in search of something specific. She also had to work hard not to fall into the hands of the guards. She followed the captain from the outside and was damn glad it wasn't raining and the bricks the building was built with were a good anchor point. Hanging like this on the wall she tried to listen to the conversation but heard nothing but displeasure at this incident in the square and a few curses.
*** some time later
"You would have done something concrete, fucki'n beauty!" - she growled through her teeth, no longer managing to hide her annoyance. She clung to the wall like a frog to a leaf and hung like that for a couple of tens of minutes, while the guards discussed everything under the cell, just about anything related to the case! The fuss about the weather and the new uniforms made her nauseous. And there were still a bunch of idiotic entia in the square, all the while mumbling aimlessly.
"This city is a fucking nightmare!" - she groaned resignedly and lost all hope and faith in the superiority of entia over humans. She gritted her teeth and banged her head against the wall until her nerves gave out and she decided it was time to take a chance. She climbed to the top floor and quickly entered the corridor. Avoiding the guards, she started looking for an interesting room. Most of them were filing cabinets, but there were a lot of workers hanging around and she couldn't risk that much. If she entered the wrong storage room she could only waste time and power. Instead, she kept looking until an ornate door caught her eye.
She peeked through the keyhole and spotted a study that stood out from the other rooms in the facility. For sure, it had to belong to the captain. Without hesitation, she took out the keyhole and opened the door. She quickly stepped inside and, for the sake of inconspicuousness, closed it behind her and began her reconnaissance immediately.
The room was quite large. A separate guest area consisting of a semi-circular sofa and coffee table was separated by a partition wall of vivid green from the rest of the study which consisted of a massive desk and several file cabinets, a chest of drawers with a liquor bar and a mass of decorations on the walls. What caught her attention most was a large stuffed Bizack bear placed on a platform frozen in an attacking pose
"What kitsch" - she said in disgust as she felt the stench emanating from the maw of the pile of fur with fangs and razor-like claws. Clearly the captain had terrible taste in putting up such trash so that anyone who entered would be doomed to see this crap.
But instead of concentrating on the repulsive decorations she set off to search. Her initial target, classically, was a massive desk
"There must be something specific here" - she stammered to herself, carefully examining the neatly folded documents. From the haphazardly read words, she discovered that they were reports from magazines about equipment or living resources. - "No sign of anything special" - she muttered resignedly, putting each of the folders back in place so as not to arouse suspicion. - "Have the guards really ignored the investigation? They don't do anything about disappearances?" - she said aloud, mirroring the bookcases but to no avail.
She couldn't give up yet but with her knowledge and limitations it was hard to find any valuable document. She wandered her eyes around the folders for a moment but her senses kicked in and shivers ran down her spine. 'Danger', her body even screamed. She could see that trouble was coming and she was limited in what she could do. She also didn't know who was approaching and she couldn't take any chances. She wanted to jump out of the window but someone might notice her and on top of that she still wanted to look around the room. Fortunately, she quickly swallowed her saliva and calmed her mind. She knew she'd rather take the risk, even if she had to get into a fight.
Without a moment's delay, she approached the stuffed bear and jumped inside through its mouth. She was glad that she was relatively small and the Bizack animal, huge in size. She muted her breathing, had her hidden blades at the ready and listened carefully, in suspense, as the door opened and someone entered the room. By the steps she determined that some three persons had entered. She knew by their graceful and almost noiseless steps that they were elves. She hoped that none of them had bothered to use their senses to check the room, but just to be sure, she was ready to extend her blades and attack at any time. But for now she concentrated on eavesdropping and staying hidden
"What savages. That we also had to come across such backward species. Let them sit overnight in a dark and cold cell and maybe by morning they will have wised up. Tell the guards to increase security at the cells and get a report from the squad in the field to know what happened. I want to review the report as soon as possible and put an end to this whole mess!" - shouted one of them tiredly. Ivy recognised from the voice that it was the captain.
" Yes, sir!" - one of the elves stood at attention and most assuredly saluted and then left the room, loudly closing the door behind him. A silence followed which lasted for a long moment and Ivy got the impression that the other two even held their breath. She felt uneasy because of the tense atmosphere and was only relieved when she heard a long sigh.
"What a day! I don't think these animals will ever learn!" - groaned the captain with resignation and walked over to the liquor bar as the other man sat down on the sofa. If it hadn't been for the distinctive squeak of leather Ivy wouldn't have known that someone had sat on it. The man moved almost silently and this worried her even more
"Such are the charms of life on the Brick. Here, incidents are on a different level. Even a silly skirmish can end in a smashed building" - admitted the man on the sofa amused. Ivy found his voice too friendly, even charming. She also saw that she had not heard him before because he was not with the captain when Ivy followed him a while ago
"Even the Colonel cannot imagine how often this happens! The worst thing is that the guard takes the rap for any destruction. And then, everyone wonder why I'm asking for an increase in our budget. The costs for every damage are borne by me!" - he shouted in exasperation and sipped his wine greedily. The man next to him seemed amused by his discharge of anger and only by his barely audible giggle was Ivy able to attest to his presence in the room
"I believe you're going through a really tough time as captain on the Brick, but believe me it's not easy everywhere else either. The third ring is a really scary place. Have you heard what Romer is going through so far after the incident in the square?" - He asked with palpable interest. His voice made Ivy feel very uneasy and her guts even turned over screaming about the threat from him
"Don't even remind me. I didn't want to go into details. It was enough for me that afterwards all those coupled with the guards had to attend a summons to the castle. I don't even remember anymore how many hours all those meetings and sermons lasted. And what was that for? It is Romer who cannot control his own district. He was the only one who deserved to be booed, and so everyone was booed in turn. I don't even remember what it was about" - he admitted with obvious weariness, while the other seemed overly energetic.
"The whole town was alive with this action. To this day Albedo cannot wash the blood trail from under the gate and public executions in the square have been abandoned for fear of the life and health of the citizens" - he said, Ivy could swear, maliciously, the relaxed elf. She also rolled her eyes, unable to contain her resignation. How many times could one drone on about the same subject? The whole incident happened a long time ago and these guy's are still reliving it like the last faggots. A big thing, several dead bodies. That's how many she passed every day when she went home through Fetos - "Pathetic creatures" - she thought and made a lot of effort not to say it out loud
"Quite a gruesome experience. I wonder who was behind this? If it happened on Albedo territory then Romer should personally skin this madman. I'm surprised he hasn't been caught yet" - the captain grimaced and drank another glass of alcohol.
"I have no idea who it was but he's a complete lunatic. If he'd killed the people themselves, the case would probably have been swept under the carpet, but the guards should have been retaliated against. And now? Who knows if such a massacre will not happen again" - the man sounded more amused than devastated. He probably didn't give a damn about the fallen guards and was even happy to have a topic for gossip, a typical dandy among elves, Ivy was sure.
"If it's going to happen, let it happen somewhere outside my district. So far I've had so much peace and quiet that the only thing that happens here is that every now and then a stall is knocked down by some group of troglodytes" - commented the captain with evident serenity
"Is there really nothing interesting going on? Aren't you bored because of this?" - chattered the amused elf and Ivy regretted that she could not strike up a conversation herself and draw something out, fortunately the captain's companion took the question out of her mouth
" That's exactly what I was after. Boredom! All I have to worry about is passing the report and signing the compensation for the damage done by the beaters. Nothing else, just me, a bit of paperwork and a lot of time to myself" - he concluded dreamy and highly satisfied
"In that case, let's drink to peace and boredom Captain!" - both men toasted proudly and laughed pearly.
Was the captain lying in the presence of a strange man or did he really not know anything? Ivy regretted that she could not see his face and look for any sign of lying or uncertainty. And so she could only listen to him speak with complete seriousness and light-heartedness.
From his voice and words she could really deduce that the captain had no idea that kidnappings were taking place in his area. His companion didn't bother to bring up the subject either, as he probably didn't know anything himself. How come the guards don't know anything? After all, even if they are ignoring the matter, someone must have at least heard the rumours or gossip going around the city.
Now the matter seemed even more complicated to her. It also occurred to her that she would not learn anything from the guards and she had to start looking for information herself. For the time being, she might be able to find out why the guards are blindfolded.
*** about two hours later
The men quickly dropped the subject of work and started talking about their families, friends, plans for the future, plans for holidays and the upcoming holiday, silly stories from the past and about a worthless shit and Ivy would cut off their tongues if she could, so that she would not have to listen to this bullshit! The men were drinking, they must have had five bottles of alcohol and were quite drunk, and Ivy regretted her fate and the fact that she had to listen to it sober. She had learned nothing that was helpful to her investigation and was just wasting her time.
She sat in an uncomfortable position, on constant alert, holding her breath and dulling the slightest murmur. And she still had to listen to this unnecessary chatter about nothing! She hated wasting time and absorbing unnecessary information. She promised herself that as soon as she left the guard post she would go to the city to have a good time, because she was boiling from the inside because of all this bullshit! Since she had nothing to do, she spent her time planning what she would do when she got out of this stinking bear. So much was the use that the stench of the stuffed figure masked her own smell. In the course of these two hours she had managed to soak it up completely.
She even thought of praying to the gods of all the faiths she knew, but then her saviour appeared in the form of a secretary. In fine words, the woman chastised the men for drinking during working hours and complained about unsigned reports. Reluctantly but they listened to the woman and abandoned the small party and left the room. Ivy was just waiting for this. When the men left the room, she waited a moment and then emerged like a burnt woman from inside the bear.
"I already thought I was going to be fucki'n crazy!" - she drove her nails into her scalp and tried to control her anger - "Hold on a little longer Ivy. First escape, and then you can wreck this freaking town" - she calmed herself and forced herself to think rationally. She decided to look through the study once more
Instead of moving to the desk, she walked over to the table where the men were being hosted and looked in disgust at the mess they had created and how much alcohol they had wasted. She was about to wave her hand and check further when she spotted something between the cushions. A diary, likely the captain's. Without hesitation, she grabbed the item and put it quickly into her backpack to check it later, and she would think about whether it would be useful to her later. For now, she decided, it was time to evacuate.
If the captain did not know anything, it means that the matter must have ended with the inferior guards, who ignored the case so much that they probably did not even bother to write a report. At least, that was how she wanted to sum up her little investigation before she left the building, she hoped forever.
Not wanting to take any chances, she chose to go through the window. She opened it a crack and stepped out onto the windowsill outside. She chose to walk across the square, she didn't want to jump across the rooftops because her muscles and bones were numb. Slowly she slid down the gutter, trying not to make a sound. Most of the guards were focused on the new prisoners so they didn't look much at the square or their obligatory patrols. She passed guards in stealth and hid behind pillars or crates and after a long while she was out of the post.
To be safe, she escaped a few alleys away and entered the sewer. She also immediately took to looking through the diary. It was full of dates and some notes but without a word about kidnappings or disappearances or even murders. She didn't even look at the rest, mainly because she was only looking for selected words.
"Fuck me!" - she groaned resignedly and threw the journal on the ground and leaned against the wall of the sewer herself. It was already evening and she had learned as much as she already knew, that the guard knew nothing. If she at least knew why and so she was back to square one again.
She had to act again in the old traditional way. She pulled a map out of her rucksack and carefully mirrored the estate in search of possible kidnap sites. They would have to be somewhere further away from the centre and in less frequented streets.
"If I was in a sect that cares about kidnapping entia, where would I go?" - she tried to get under the skin of the kidnapper. She herself had on more than one occasion had a mission that involved taking over a target and now she had to act similarly. Her gaze immediately fell on a mass of smaller buildings interspersed with narrow streets. Workhouses or warehouses were unused at night, and it was possible to store a body in them and take it to a more convenient place by moving from building to building. So without a moment's delay she went to check the trail. She packed up her spars and ran through the sewers to avoid being spotted.
Once there, she discovered that inspecting the estate from below was not a bad idea. The sound is not bad here, so she could hear even the smallest steps coming from above. In addition, from downstairs she could observe passers-by at relatively close range without being noticed. She also avoided narrow streets and passageways so she had more freedom, which was an ideal position. Now all she had to do was wait in the hope that her trail would work.
She sat down on the ground, quieted her mind and strained her senses. She waited patiently for some action from above. She recognised the slightest sounds. She distinguished the steps of stray animals or rats. She even managed to distinguish some breeds based on footsteps. She didn't look at the time, she just waited. And her patience paid off.
The steps were overly gentle and confidently placed. She even managed to hear the sound of steel striking, meaning he must have been armed. He was in a hurry somewhere, probably chasing someone or running away. She knew he was no large creature and the footsteps matched those of a human. She took a deep breath and stood up from her seat. She followed her target without leaving the sewers. She simply followed the same route only that it was right under the man's feet. Through the manholes, she tried to get a closer look at him, but he was wearing a cloak that covered his entire body. Nevertheless, she was not discouraged, she would still find an opportunity to get a better look at him. For now, she followed her target quickly.
Just as she had suspected, he had used empty warehouses to set up a trap. He holed up in one of them and waited patiently. Ivy decided that she would wait too, except that in a different place. She stepped out of the sewer and knew that she wanted to take up some prime space. She climbed onto the roof of a neighbouring building and silently tore into the warehouse where her target was hiding.
He stood at the door in full readiness, as if waiting for a specific target. The blade he held in his hand shone slightly under the moonlight. Identical to the ones the girl in the back of Fantaber had. She could bet that the figure also had a tattoo of a snake's mouth on his back, but for now she wanted to wait. She preferred to see how it worked and what was happening to the entia.
She crouched on a beam, right by the window leading to the roof. If the action moved into the street then she could leave the building quickly. Now, taking advantage of the darkness that prevailed in the warehouse, she watched the man from hiding. He was young and had a humane demeanour. Still, she did not rule out the option that he might be some kind of entia, such as a chameleon. She sat still and did not make even the slightest murmur.
This paid off in that she could perfectly hear the slightest sound coming from the road. Even she knew that a non-human was approaching. She assumed a stance and waited for the boy's reaction. He pushed against the door and when the figure on the road came within his reach, he attacked. He grabbed the figure by the fracas and dragged it into the warehouse.
It was some sort of half human half lizard, or reptilion. It tried to fight back with its massive tail but Ivy guessed that the boy had treated it with poison because the entia quickly lost control of its limbs. He fell to the ground and the boy took his hand off his face and quickly tied it with a rag to prevent him from calling for help. Just in case, Ivy had her daggers at the ready but she did not rush to help. She preferred to watch.
She also had mixed feelings about helping the entia, after all, they despised humans and for her good-naturedness they could even repay her by selling her guard. After all, it was at the hands of the entia that she suffered the most so she waited and watched in silence and concentration for further developments. Nevertheless, she loaded her arrow launchers with darts of paralysing poison.
She took advantage of the fact that the boy was focused on his victim and she could get down to the lower beams to have a closer view and hear more. The boy busied himself tying him up with a silver chain, in case the victim should use magic.
"Not the stupidest move" - she whispered quietly under her breath full of admiration. She could see that the boy was not some amateur and knew what he was doing. He had carefully bundled up the limbs and especially the massive tail. The Reptilion had no chance of escaping any more, it must have even resigned itself to its fate because it closed its eyes and normalised its breathing.
The boy, seeing the calmness of his prey, walked away and started rummaging for something at the chest standing against the wall. He pulled out a bag of some sort and approached his victim. Ivy knew it was a typical doctor's bag, except that inside were tools resembling instruments of torture rather than medical instruments. She was calm but inside she was overcome with emotion. She didn't even know what she was looking at or what to expect. She did not know whether she should react or wait patiently. Her heart, however, beat harder when the executioner pulled out the needle and began to drop blood from his victim. He filled vial after vial and hid them all in some strange box.
When he had collected enough blood he put the equipment away in the box and Ivy breathed a sigh of relief. He was most likely just collecting materials. They probably needed the blood for some of their rituals or something. Already more at ease, she straightened up and was about to leave when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the boy grab his blade.
Then she didn't think, her body reacted on its own. She threw herself from the beam directly at the masked boy and pinned him to the ground. She stepped on his wrists and he involuntarily discharged his weapon which Ivy threw somewhere far into the corner. She took quick aim with the poison arrow and immobilised the luminary. It all took mere seconds. When the poison had completely spread through the body, she stepped off the boy and only then did she start to breathe. Again her instinct acted and at the same time her conscience wrenched away the remnants of compassion for some non-human being by which she had got herself into the wrong business
"Fuck me! Again!" - she was embarrassed by her behaviour but she couldn't waste her time on some argument now. She would fuck herself for her behaviour later and, for the moment, she first approached the entia to check his condition. He was still paralysed by the poison but he was breathing. Nevertheless, she took a piece of cloth from his tunic as a precaution and secured the place from where he had his blood drawn. She also loosened the ropes and removed the chains and when she was sure he was safe, only then did she approach the masked thug.
Without hesitation, she bent down and ripped the cloak from him. He did indeed have to be human. On top of that, he had a vial of poison at his belt. Instead of looking at his face, she rolled him over onto his stomach with her shoe and slit the fabric of his shirt to look at his back. Just as she had bet, a tattoo in the shape of a snake's mouth. So the sect had indeed begun to act violently after all. Resigned, she sighed and gathered her thoughts. She turned the boy to face her and sat on him to show dominance. For encouragement she put the blade to his throat so she could silence him if he got into trouble.
"You will now politely tell me why the hell you need his blood" - she thrust his head at the unconscious entia. The boy, despite having a knife at his throat, was remarkably calm. He also looked relatively harmless.
Pale complexion, gentle features, dark hair and black eyes in which an unimaginable calmness was hosted. He continued like this in silence and Ivy was losing patience and interest. She made a shallow incision from the neck towards the abdomen, marking a perfect axis on the ribs. The boy squealed quietly but remained supremely calm
"You're tough. You know your job and even the encouragement of a blade doesn't work on you. I didn't expect the Serpents to have such interesting members in their ranks" - she threw in a slight admiration. Somehow she guessed that she would not get much out of him and she did not feel like torturing him. She did not like to oppress humans. She regretted a little that she had to fight the boy and not the entia, but she had to find out what the sect was up to.
"You won't get anything out of me" - he snapped her out of her reverie. He said it with such calmness and seriousness that Ivy felt a shiver run down her spine. She even got up and walked away a bit feeling anxious. In the same second, foam began to drip from the boy's mouth and his body began to twitch, even despite the poison. Despite the shock she knew perfectly well what was happening and acted immediately, she opened his mouth and grabbed the capsule but even that did not help.
"Motherfucker..." - she hissed angrily. The boy had a capsule of Resher, a poison that causes a quick death, hidden in his mouth. Some used it as a precaution against torture. They preferred to kill themselves rather than squeak a word.
However, she did not expect the boy to be able to kill himself for such a cause. Could he be hiding something more macabre and mysterious? She hadn't even managed to think longer when she heard a sound coming from the road. Probably the boy had support, and now, she had to act fast. She ran to the door to slam it shut and then to the box the boy was tinkering with. She stowed all the contents in her backpack and prepared to run away. She wanted to leave but heard a quiet moan. She froze in mid-step and scolded herself like a dog in her mind for the fact that her conscience was over-active today.
"I'm going to get a fucking beating for this, and a fucking hard one at that" - she knew she was going to bring trouble on herself but she couldn't act otherwise. She turned back and picked up the entia's inert body and started up the stairs to the roof. The door didn't hold for long, however, and some masked twosome entered. Ivy knew she could not fight now to avoid endangering the wounded entia. She quickly took out a smoke bomb and threw it towards the door. The masked intruders didn't even manage to take a few steps before the warehouse filled with smoke that masked her presence.
Ivy stepped outside to then slide down a gutter into one of the alleys. However, she had to reckon that other members of the cult might be waiting for her. Instead of wasting time and taking unnecessary risks, she climbed through the manhole into the sewer and set off ahead with the entia on her back. The boy was heavy but somehow she managed to move fairly quickly. She also knew that his consciousness had returned, but he had lost a lot of blood and the poison was still paralysing his muscles.
She had to think quickly what to do next. She couldn't act as a babysitter now. She didn't want to abandon the body and deal with the rest of the intruders, even though her hands were yearning to draw her blades and cut a few bodies and watch them soak in their own blood. But she couldn't think about pleasure. She had to concentrate on the next steps. It was a pity that entia's body was weigh, but her conscience wouldn't let her get rid of it. Not knowing where she could go for help, she decided that she had to swallow her pride and meet a nasty golden-eyed man. She hastened her steps and set off towards the warehouse where she had been mangled by Hax.
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Temporary alliance
She emerged from the sewer in the alley where she disappeared last time. She made sure the path was clear and entered the warehouse through the window she had left earlier. She entered without any problems as there was, fortunately, no one inside. She put the body down on the ground and went over to the table to grab one of the lamps and quickly illuminate the room. Only in the good light was she able to see what condition the reptilion was in.
"It looks bad, fucki'n bad" - that was all she was able to moan through her teeth. After taking off his coat, she looked at the place from which he had his blood drawn. Because his limb was not immobilised, the wound had worsened and the material had managed to soak through with blood. Worst of all, however, was the wound from the blade. It was quite deep and ran diagonally across the chest. In addition, the boy was conscious but unable to move fully. Ivy was sure he felt the pain and inconvenience caused by the loss of blood.
She knew she would not escape, otherwise all her efforts to save the entia would have been in vain. Instead, she took off her coat and backpack and proceeded to save a life. She rolled up her sleeves and pulled out a first aid kit and a small bottle of alcohol. She stole it from Jas if she needed to relax somehow, she didn't expect it to come in handy so soon and for such a purpose. She pulled out a vial of antidote and sewing equipment. She disinfected the meds and hands with alcohol and disinfected the patient's body with ointment. She started by giving her patient the antidote and something for pain
"Please, focus on my voice now! I see that you are conscious but not in control of your body. You were given the antidote along with the anaesthetic but it may take a while for it to take effect. Unfortunately I don't have that much time and I have to start sewing you up. It's going to hurt, and it's going to hurt a lot, but you've got to breathe deeply and take it somehow. I'll try to sew you up quickly, but please don't die until I've finished" - she said in the meantime, and when she was ready she began the first stitch. The wound was deep and in a rather unfavourable place.
She could feel his skin trembling under her touch and his body tensing with pain, but she could not do otherwise. She did her best to get the right stitches in as fast as possible. She concentrated completely on the procedure and only made sure from time to time that her patient was still alive. With each passing moment, his sensation returned and he was able to let out more moans of pain and his face began to take on a grimace of suffering. She regretted that the painkillers were so slow to take effect, but she had to suture the wound before he lost any more blood, but the needle was hard to insert through the scaly skin, so the procedure took longer than she would have liked.
When she had finished mending the flesh she rubbed ointment into the wound to speed up healing and secured the area with a bandage. She then moved on to the less serious haemorrhage on her forearm. She disinfected the area with ointment and carefully bandaged it. To be safe, she also immobilised the limb
She tended to the reptilon in concentration for a while and felt more relieved with every second. The bandages had turned white and this meant that the entia would not lose any more blood. He was already breathing more calmly and this meant that the painkillers were already working.
She straightened her back and breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't hide her contentment and didn't realise she was smiling. She couldn't remember when she had managed to save a life. She had always only killed and now she had a nice change. With great passion and devotion, she arranged her cloak under the injured man's head and poured a vial of enhancer into his mouth that aided regeneration after blood loss. She then grabbed a light and looked around the warehouse.
It was some sort of base camp or headquarters for Anyon and his gang. She didn't want to go through all the junk and concentrated on finding the patient essentials. She grabbed an old blanket of some sort and a beaker of water. She covered the non-human with the blanket to keep him warm and helped him drink the water.
She didn't expect to spend the night rescuing some random entia but she preferred to focus on him rather than think that a group of Serpents had slipped away from her nose. She also didn't know if she should stay in the warehouse. She was sure that when Hax saw her he would greet her again with the sole of his boot or show her his knuckles up close, but she didn't want to leave the patient alone to make sure his condition didn't suddenly deteriorate. She leaned resignedly against the wall and sighed, pawing at her head.
"I could have grabbed them and made them talk, and I ended up doing the nurse for the entia even though they make punching bags out of me. What the fuck is in my head?" - she threw to herself with a hysterical smile. She couldn't control her emotions. She had to wait in uncertainty for the owners of the warehouse to clear up all the fuss, and yet she could already feel more beatings and cuts on her and her fresh wounds seemed to hurt again.
She wanted to help the entia, to run after the Snakes and get away from Hax at the same time so her nervous tics were raging at their best. She began to crouch restlessly with her foot and peel the cuticles from her fingers
"What should I do? What should I do?" - She was beating her thoughts trying to think of the best scenario. She could run away and waste her strength because she was almost certain there was no sign of Snakes in the warehouse anymore. She could also wait but she knew that if Hax saw her he would beat her up and she herself would have no way to explain herself, and even if she did this group would probably start debating again and get nowhere.
She found herself in a hopeless situation but before she completely succumbed to the trappings of her mind, her attention focused on her senses which sensed a presence. Ivy knew it was Anyon and his group. Even though she trusted the orc her body tensed like a string. She stood in front of the body so that she could protect it and her hands were at the ready by the hilt of her daggers. From the threshold, she sensed the unease that lingered in the warehouse. She knew that the newcomers had noticed that there was someone in the warehouse and had decided to remain vigilant. Ivy thought it would be better if she spoke first to save a fight
"Anyon!" - she shouted, trying to sound calm. She didn't have to wait long for the boy to come out to meet her. They both looked at each other calmly but each drew their weapons. They stood in silence for a while until Ivy decided she didn't want to waste time and would be the one to make the first move. She holstered her daggers, signalling to the orc to do the same with his kukri. - "They tried to kill him and I had nowhere to hide, I'm sorry" - she said quickly and knelt down beside the wounded reptilion. Anyon stood still for a moment, but when he looked at the body he ran towards it as if burnt
"Myron! Myron, are you alive? Can you hear me? Speak up!" - he jerked the injured man's body and Ivy, out of control, threw herself at the orc and pinned him to the ground
"He is wounded! You'll open his wounds if you jerk him around!" - she snapped at him with pure anger and only mastered herself when she saw the fear and disbelief in the orc's eyes. She was paralysed by instinct but the orc didn't seem to mind. He grabbed her by the shoulders and gently slid her off him, but still held her in a hug for reassurance. Now they both looked at the reclining reptilion.
His chest slowly sank and rose and Ivy calmed down a little seeing that his breathing had normalised. After a moment the rest of Anyon's friends appeared behind her back so she started to speak before anyone got the idea to tie her up or beat her up
"He has a cut on his chest and a wound on his forearm from drawing blood. The poison is still circulating in his body but I have already given him an antidote and something for pain. He has lost a lot of blood but his life is no longer in danger" - she tried to describe the patient's condition accurately. She knew the framework and knew perfectly well that the boy would survive. She was also a little calmer as a result. The only positive thing she had achieved today was saving his life, because she had fucked up the rest of her tasks. She was so immersed in her thoughts about the patient that she forgot that Anyon was holding her. She didn't expect all the more when the orc locked her in a tight embrace and started squeezing
"Thank you so much Ivy! Thank you so much for saving his life" - he spoke filled with happiness and relief and all Ivy did was tense up like a string and clench her teeth. She didn't like touch and, in addition, any physical contact made her uncomfortable.
But the worst part was that the orc didn't even realise the force with which he was squeezing her and that he was just hurting her wounds and bruises on her breasts. She shuddered but the pain forced her to push Anyon away. She didn't want to offend the boy but her ribs wouldn't take a moment longer. She took a few breaths to calm herself and to push the pain away. Anyon came to his senses after a moment and most likely guessed that he had stabbed her in her sore spots
"I'm Sorry, I got carried away! Are you all right?!" - he didn't know how to catch her without hurting her and Ivy didn't want to embarrass him. She reassured him by putting a hand on his shoulder and tried to put on an indifferent expression and even out her breathing
" It's all right, I'm fine. Thanks for your care" - she assured in reassurance and hoped that both she and Anyon would bring themselves to order. They lasted a moment in pleasant silence but literally a moment. She had forgotten that they were not alone and were accompanied by the rest of Anyon's group. They all approached the lying patient and watched him intently. Hax even drew his blade to greet her affectionately as always. One of them checked the injured man's pulse and breathing
"Where did you find him?" - he asked matter-of-factly and looked extremely composed. Ivy knew he was one of the masked men because she recognised him by his voice, but he was still wearing his hood and his cloak covered his entire body
"In one of the warehouses to the west of here. He was walking down a narrow alley and his tormentor dragged him inside. He wounded him with a poisoned blade and bundled him up before he could even blink. He drew his blood into some vials and then tried to get rid of him but I stopped him. His tormentor turned out to be the Snake Boy but I couldn't get anything out of him, he used a capsule of Resher and fell silent for ever. I didn't have time to search him because two other masked men entered the warehouse to support the boy. I couldn't fight because I would have put your friend at risk of losing his life. Instead, I grabbed him on my back and fled the warehouse. I didn't know where I could go for help and this is the only place I know in the district so I brought him here and attended to his wounds." - she said just as matter-of-factly, but without enthusiasm. Her expression faded instantly as she was sure that the only person who believed her was Anyon, so she pulled herself out of the orc's embrace and stood up resignedly to sit on the table72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuf12TOSYk9
-" Or at least that is my version. But I am almost certain that you don't believe me anyway and you will either debate for hours or save me and yourselves the time and Hax will kick my ass without pursuing the subject" - she threw up her hands impassively and the group of men looked at her attentively.
She knew that they had doubts and that each of them was driven by a desire for revenge that covered their eyes for what was factual. There was no denying that she had acted to their advantage, but they only took her as a threat because she was human. She also knew that she had left the group stunned, but she hoped they would not break the silence. She wanted to rest for a while and then take her cloak and rucksack and go through the warehouse to look for possible clues and traces to do anything in the investigation.
"There was someone else in the warehouse, someone who can confirm your innocence?" - continued the masked man. Ivy knew that her explanations were worth as water under the bridge, but at least since she was already here and their companion was unconscious she preferred to tell the men how it was
" Nobody. At the time of the whole incident it was just me, the already dead boy and your wounded companion. I also didn't have a chance to look at the masked two, but they had the same cloaks and I'm sure they were acting on behalf of the Snakes" - she spoke dispassionately and her gaze was fixed somewhere on the stain under her feet
"How did you get to the warehouse and what were you doing there?" - he asked still with peace, however Hax still held his blade and was ready to attack her. Ivy, however, was not moved by this
"I followed the boy, he seemed suspicious to me. When he entered the warehouse I did too and waited for his reaction. Apparently he was hunting for your friend, because he lurked on his route and dragged him into the warehouse he was passing." - seeing that hardly anyone was taking her seriously anyway, she was quickly bored by the report. -" I think I will go, this conversation is going nowhere and I don't want to get hurt again" - she threw more to herself than to the others. She left the table and slowly went to get her things. She picked up her rucksack and carefully took the coat from under the injured man's head. She was about to leave but decided that she should return something that did not belong to her. She walked over to the table again and took out the box she had stolen from the storeroom - "This boy used it to draw his blood, I have no idea for what purpose. He keeps it in vials in this box" - she picked up the small box and everyone walked over to the table.
"Are they kidnapping entia to drain their blood?" - Anyon looked at the vials in full concentration
"And it's all clear. They certainly use it for those rituals of theirs" - growled Hax angrily and spat on the ground. Ivy felt slightly disgusted that she had come to the same conclusions as him but showed no emotion at all
"It would even make sense. They draw blood and then get rid of the witnesses. Myron was lucky to have survived" - stated masked man and continued to examine the contents of the box
"He didn't. He had Ivy, not luck" - Anyon stated with a smile and clasped her by the coat before she could leave the table. Now everyone, even her, was looking at him with questioning eyes and Anyon seemed angry to see the looks on the faces of his companions - "Oh come on now. Are you guys really going to continue to consider her an enemy?! She has already shown once again that we can trust her and that she is a valuable ally in our cause. If she had wanted to kill us she would have done so long ago, not carried our friend on her back and tried to heal his wounds. We should show her gratitude and apologise for our inelegant behaviour" - he stated with seriousness, and the last passage he dedicated with a chastising look to Hax.
The orc infuriated the company and forced them to reflect and Ivy continued to repeat his words in her head. He defended her and appreciated her and really trusted her! She had already forgotten what it felt like to trust someone and feel appreciated. It affected her even more that these words were spoken by an entia which was already quite a rarity. His words echoed in her thoughts which caused a pleasant tingling sensation inside her and a kind of warmth spreading through her body. She had just put herself Anyon on a pedestal and given him the title of the perfect being who had restored her faith in entia
"Let it be. Anyon may have a bit of a point. We shouldn't alienate potential allies. Today, by saving Myron, you proved that you can be trusted and relied upon. So if you don't want to take revenge for our previous behaviour then would you perhaps still want to work with us?" - asked the masked man and then removed his hood from his head.
His face was average but exceptionally gentle and his only feature was the small horns on his head which matched perfectly with his tightly curled dark blonde hair. He had a lovely face and beauty chocolate eyes and Ivy found that she had pictured his face differently, a little more menacing but even that was pleasantly disappointing. She thought there was some menacing guy hiding behind the hood and not.... Faun! Gosh, why did she only now look at his legs? Or rather, his hooves. Oh well, she'll chastise herself for her perceptiveness later, she didn't want to spoil a haughty moment. Now she was wandering with her eyes over the men at the table
"It is good to hear that you are finally getting somewhere. Let's agree to temporarily bury the hatchet and get to the bottom of this together. Hax can only be sure that someday I will repay him for my bruises and show him that he messed with the wrong person" - she sent him a wide smile and flashed him a flirtatious eye, and he ran his finger over her neck threatening her with death. She knew that they would not get along easily, but she did not come here to make friends, she came here to solve the case and she was going to do it now that she finally had the opportunity
"Great! Now we will surely catch those nasty pursuers quickly" - Anyon could not hide his satisfaction. Of all the group, he was in the best mood. Fortunately, he looked gorgeous when he smiled, so Ivy wasn't going to be quick to scold him or give him a reason to be unhappy.
"Now that we're working together, why don't we seal it with deeds? Will you tell us what you've learned so far?" - asked the faun and Ivy decided that she would prefer to add only what the men did not already know.
"I prefer you to start. You probably know more about the case and you will be able to easily introduce me to the details and tell me what happened from the beginning" - she said softly and matter-of-factly and sat down comfortably on the table. The men looked at each other and without a word agreed that it was the faun who would initiate her.
"It all started about a month ago. It was then, at least, that we first heard rumours that a trader had left and not returned. Everyone unanimously agreed that he had fallen into some shady company and paid for it with his life. But then there were other disappearances. They were both, men and women, and each dealt with something different and were not related to each other in any way. The only thing that can be said is that they were not any well-known people in the neighbourhood. That is why hardly anyone noticed their disappearance. When several disappearances occurred it was decided to report them to the police. They collected information but did not investigate. They considered that the cases had nothing to do with each other and that all the entia had left the neighbourhood in their own cells. We were pissed off. We couldn't let more entia disappear, after all, we feared for our loved ones. We formed a small group and started searching the neighbourhoods for clues. We didn't have any clues or leads so we searched pretty much in the dark. Fortunately, by some miracle, we came across bodies. One, a pretty massacred Snake boy and the other, a Cyclops who had died from the poison in his body and the wounds he had inflicted. Then we related the facts. The Snakes have always hated entia and now they have finally started to act openly against us. We took it upon ourselves to patrol the neighbourhood and protect the citizens and tried to kidnap someone from the sect and interrogate them. Or at least follow them and find a hiding place but so far we have been unsuccessful. And today... "- he grimaced and turned to look at his injured comrade lying there -" Myron wanted to look at the potential paths the Serpents were taking. We wanted him to wait so we could bundle up more men and form groups but he didn't listen. He went to check out the neighbourhood on his own. Apparently he was not wrong. It's just a pity that he paid a high price for it" - he finished his statement with clear concern and slight despair. Ivy was not at all surprised. They had almost lost an ally and a friend. Now she was grateful to herself that she had taken the risk and saved the entia. If he had died his comrades might have broken down and abandoned the investigation, sinking into despair. There was an uncomfortable silence and sadness so Ivy preferred to cut short this moment of reverie
"He came to quite a visible conclusion. The warehouses were empty at night and between narrow streets. It was easy to kidnap someone and hide a body without a trace and then get rid of it. It is strange that only now one of you has checked it" - she wanted to warm up the atmosphere and it turned out that she had offended the group and already more panicked, she tried to change the subject - "But as for the guards, it seems strange" - she stated briskly and the men looked at her with questioning eyes. It was good that there was no trace of their grimace of anger on their faces. Ivy additionally wanted to gain in their eyes. She reached into her backpack again to take out the journal she had stolen from the captain - "I was surprised that the guard wasn't doing anything so I decided to have a look at the station. I snuck into the captain's office. I managed to overhear his conversation, probably with some colonel. They were talking about bullshit for a long time until it made me sick, but I had to conclude from all the bullshit that the captain knew nothing. It was as if none of his subordinates had informed him. It is possible that the guard really doesn't know anything, but the information must have been withheld by someone at a lower level" - she said with seriousness, and her joints began to ache at the thought of spending so much time in a stuffed bear. In the meantime, while she was reporting, the group was carefully examining the logbook.
"This is Captain Follen's own logbook, how did you manage to take it?" - The faun was flicking through the journal and raised his interested eyes at her. Ivy didn't understand much of the man's surprise. She also felt silly to say that she had stepped out of the puppet and claimed him because he was lying on the sofa. Still, she had to be honest, after all, they finally trusted her
"I already said, I went into his office. I also sifted through the documents but there was a mass of them and I didn't have time and didn't know very much where to look. The only things I managed to take in were the conclusions of the conversation I overheard and this diary. I have not looked at it in any detail. Is there anything interesting there?" - She asked feigning indifference in order to hide her embarrassment. She couldn't reveal that she was looking for selected words and ignored the rest. It would have made her look like a fool. Well, actually, she was a fool, but that was no reason for the rest to know that. She preferred to save face and give the appearance of being a smart person.
"Details of meetings and important personalities in the guards. Some addresses, both of these guards but also of their contacts or potential threats. This is valuable knowledge, but indeed no mention of disappearances. The captain really doesn't know anything. And that means someone is trying to hide something from his own boss. Something is going wrong in the guards, and we have to check it out" - he said with a seriousness and determination that the other two managed to share. - "We will have to look for the guards who dismissed the investigation. If they haven't mentioned it in any report, it means that they are deliberately trying to hide it. Let one group ask witnesses and do the investigation. The rest will patrol the warehouses to the west. Myron had a nose, maybe we can find some leads before the Snakes discover we've picked up a trail. Let's hope they don't link it to us. I'll inform Cyrus of everything and we'll work out the details in consultation. We'll start tomorrow morning, so don't be late for the meeting. For now, get back to yourselves and I'll take care of Myron. And it's not that I don't trust you, but I have to take precautions, Hax, keep an eye on her" - Ford gave a quick order and Ivy and the black man stood up as if they were stunned.
"What? Never in my life!" - they shouted in unison and then looked at each other with even more anger and desire to kill at which Faun rolled his eyes
"Anyon is too gentle with you...." - he tried to explain but couldn't win over Ivy's anger
"But Hax is just perfect! As everyone can see that he has a good hand with women and people!" - she shouted sarcastically and angrily banged her fist on the table and with her other hand pointed at the cuts and bruises on her face
"I’d rather drink piss than I have to babysit her!" - He walked over to his friend and looked at Ivy with disdain. Of course she returned the same. Meanwhile, the faun put his hand to his forehead and tried to remain calm
"Then you'll both take care of her. Hax will make sure Anyon doesn't let you do too much, and Anyon will put the brakes on Hax if he wants to hurt you again" - he stated softly and matter-of-factly but Ivy was sure he was struggling to hold back from ripping the morass out on his subordinates and on her
"It won’t be necessary. I can defend myself and Hax isn't staggering around in a pool of blood just because I thought I'd be nice and try to Co-operate" - offended she folded her arms across her chest and turned away wanting to look away. She was menacing even though at any given moment she looked like a girl with a smirk but she didn't give a damn as long as she didn't have to look at Hax
"Ford, come on. I know you're the captain but..." - Hax tried, with more composure, to convince the faun of his point, but the faun interrupted him
"And it is precisely because I am a captain that you must obey me and carry out my orders!" - he growled sharply in the man's direction and Ivy had just found out that even such an inconspicuous face could prove frightening. Hax was unhappy with the decision but didn't say another word. He clenched his fists and swallowed the bitterness of defeat with difficulty. He groaned protractedly but relented and walked away from the table. Ford breathed a sigh of relief and returned to his matter-of-fact expression. He glanced at the company one last time and straightened up72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTfzbEUTbtE
- "You already know your orders. Tomorrow morning we'll meet to assign tasks, but in the meantime, take care of yourselves. I hope you won't cause any trouble" - it sounded more like a threat than a request and all three of them knew it. Hax, Ivy and Anyon stood in line and nodded slightly. It was apparent that none of them felt like fighting or arguing any more - "Great, you can go now" - he ordered briskly and dismissed them with a hand gesture and left the table to check on the injured reptilion.
Ivy gathered her things and took one last look at the lying boy and seeing his rhythmically moving chest she could breathe a sigh of relief. She glanced at Anyon, and at Hax but looked at him only with disdain, and waited for some words of explanation. She wanted to finally know what she would have to do now. Anyon looked at her, as always, with his beautiful eyes, and sent her an encouraging smile
"It has been a hard night for all of us. Let’s go and get some rest, we have an important meeting ahead of us in the morning" – he headed for the exit and Ivy and Hax followed him, keeping a good distance between them. They left the warehouse for the main road and walked through the streets deserted by the late hour
"If I may know, where are we actually heading?" – Not that she didn’t trust her companions but.... she didn’t actually trust them. She had only known them for a few hours and they were only connected by business. She might have been convinced about Anyon, but Hax’s company made her want to blow everything to smithereens. Fortunately, Anyon’s friendly aura eased her anxiety and bad mood.
"We need a rest, so we are going to one of our trusted inns. It’s not far, so maybe we’ll get some sleep before the morning” - he sent her a radiant smile, which made Ivy relax. She already had an outline of where she was going and that was a big plus.
Now she was passing the stone streets of the district in silence and more quietly. The BrickStreet was less green like Albedo or the second ring districts but remarkably highly developed. The roads were built to accommodate the huge population. In addition, she always marvelled at the network of tracks that facilitated the transportation of bullion or heavy materials through the city. Here, stone was in perfect harmony with metal. Now, at night, when it wasn’t so crowded, she could take a look at the many industrial plants or houses completely different from those she knew from Kamino, the Old Town or even Albedo. In spirit, she marvelled at the surroundings but was still hyper-vigilant for threats, if only in the form of Hax.
"It’s here" - Anyon stated enthusiastically and pointed to a sizable inn, almost right by the outer wall. A nice stone building decorated with wooden accents. Ivy obediently went inside from where the murmurs of conversation were coming from. Upon entering, she realised that it was also an inn where a group of partygoers were officiating. But there were only a handful of them and they were already so drunk that they gave almost no sign of life. Ivy bypassed the group of orcs watching them carefully and approached the bar with her companions.
Behind the bar stood one beautiful woman. Ivy recognised that she was a succubus. She had beautiful ink-coloured hair reaching her shoulders which played perfectly with her slightly tilted back horns. Her ruby eyes gazed with boredom at the new arrivals. Her pale complexion and deeply marked facial features added to her character. Her aura said that she hated everyone and everything and was better left alone, which was strange seeing that succubus mwere known to be highly sociable by virtue of the fact that they kidnap and entertain men. Although, even despite this aura, Ivy was sure that she was indeed attracting many regulars with her appearance.
"I hope you bring some good news and if not, go straight upstairs and don't spoil my good humour" - she said dryly, leaning her hand on the tabletop and tapping her tankard rhythmically with the other. Hearing her say this, Ivy began to wonder what it was like for her to be dissatisfied if her mood was now supposedly good, but she effectively kept quiet about her comment
"We were lucky today. Myron is safe. He took a bit of a beating but he will survive. On top of that we've found a lead and tomorrow we'll set up the groups and get going!" - Anyon jumped up and down on the stool and could not contain his joy. His mood had a positive effect on the barmaid, who raised herself and smiled slightly, but only slightly.
" For once some good news. I already thought the matter was going to stand still. Cheers, you have earned your reward" - she poured beer into tankards and set them in front of the men. Only now did she turn her attention to Ivy sitting next to the men. She leaned against the tabletop and tried to see Ivy's face through her hood - "What's that? Some new acquisition?" - she asked, turning her head slightly to look under her hood which made Ivy feel a little uncomfortable. She had never been good at making conversation and especially not at meeting new person. Today she had already met several and her social energy was already depleted. In addition, she was not fond of magical creatures and now she was surrounded by them on all sides. And she already thought that her arrival would go unnoticed.
"This is our new ally. She rescued Myron today and provided us with vital information" - Anyon was immediately at her side and patted her proudly on the shoulder. Ivy felt a little ashamed to hear the praise from the orc's mouth but she became as stony-faced as ever. She also decided that she didn't want to come across as rude so she should introduce herself properly. She took a deep breath and removed the hood from her head and stuck out her hand towards the woman
"If you're also involved in the investigation then we're doomed to be together from now on. My name is Ivy" - she waited for a reaction from the woman, but the woman only mirrored her with her eyes, making Ivy feel more uncomfortable and uncertain. She thought she had greeted her properly, but now she sat there like a peg with her hand out and her heart was pounding harder by the second, not knowing how she should react.
"The only thing I have in common with the investigation is that I hear a lot of things and the fact that I let them sleep upstairs for free so it's unlikely we'll have much in common." - She stated dryly and Ivy felt extremely ashamed. She took her hand away and hid her palms under the table so no one would see her anxiously peeling the skin off her fingers again -" But since I know how hard it is to get along with this bunch of retards you'll probably come for a drink more than once. I am Rikki" - she said with more enthusiasm, which broke her out of her loop of gloomy thoughts. Ivy think she saw her's moment of hesitation and decided she wasn't going to be as hard as she looked. She returned to pour a pint of beer for her and leaned against the tabletop - "I'm just curious what the human has to do with the investigation. Do you know which side you stand on?" - She asked clearly interested. Ivy took a sip of beer and laughed quietly. She knew she was being controversial, but she was used to everyone telling her that she was the wrong person in the wrong place, after all, it wasn't the first and probably not the last time
"It may seem strange, but I know very well whose side I am on." - she said with a forced smile but the barmaid didn't feel satisfied with her statement so Ivy sighed and started to explain - "I am a mercenary. I was hired to get some information that has to do with the Serpents. I started snooping around and ended up here. I may not be that ambitious, but I'm also interested in getting into that nasty sect and discovering why they hunt entia" - she spouted quickly and without much enthusiasm. She didn't like to confess to anyone, and certainly not to strangers or entia. She just wanted to be nice and show that she was sincere and willing to cooperate. Fortunately, that was enough for the woman and she stopped being curious about the subject
"Be that as it may. I don't give a damn about the rest of the details, the important thing is that you somehow contribute to bringing this matter to an end. I'm tired of this life of uncertainty. Maybe you don't usually see it, but the whole neighbourhood is feeling the anxiety" - she admitted languidly and again lay down on the counter, ignoring the fact that she is at work
"We have just found a reference point. Tomorrow we'll set everything up with Cyrus and get started. I've got a good feeling about this" - Anyon made a toast and got up from the bar - "We've got a meeting first thing tomorrow morning so it's time for us to go. As soon as we've worked out more details we'll let you know" -. The woman said goodbye to them with a hand gesture and then all three headed upstairs to one of the rooms.
They must have been here often because Anyon and Hax had their own keys to it. Ivy walked obediently inside and looked around for a moment. An ordinary inn room. Four beds, a few chests and a wardrobe for personal belongings and a door leading to the bathroom. Ivy reflexively went to the window to look around to see if anyone was peeping or following, such was her habit. Anyon and Hax had already taken their bunks. Ivy also chose one of the vacant beds, the one closer to the window. She took off her coat and backpack and sat down on the comfortable mattress. Anyon was already relaxed ready for bed while Hax sat with his arms folded and threatened her with his eyes. Ivy didn't like feeling someone's eyes on her so she decided it was time to bring the shifter back to order and nag him a bit
"For the record, I'm not going to kill you in your sleep so you can stop looking at me reproachfully. If I wanted to, I would kill you in a more sophisticated way, but you would have to be fully conscious to make you suffer more" - she said with a slight smile and the man snorted in response, getting ready to snap back
"Don't you dare!" - Anyon instantly perked up and raked them with his gaze before their argument broke out in earnest. The orc sighed protractedly and rubbed his slightly tired eyes - "I think we each had a day full of entertainment. We were looking for Myron and Ivy was busy getting information. I don't know about you, but I would like to rest a bit and especially since we have to go to a meeting first thing in the morning. So please, save your arguments and postpone them until another time, and while you're at it, go to sleep!" - he ordered sluggishly but firmly. Ivy and Hax wanted to add something else, but Anyon did not take his murderous gaze off them until they had both let go. The orc only lay down when he saw the two adventurers lie down silently on the bed so as not to have to look at each other. - "Excellent. And now, good night." - He shouted contentedly and covered himself with a blanket.
Ivy knew she wouldn't fall asleep with a stranger and still in the company of an entia. She simply lay covered with the blanket with her eyes closed. Her back was turned to the men but she was fully aware of her surroundings and ready to attack. She had a few hours of idle lying and gathering energy ahead of her so she still felt a little more at ease and could at least breathe a little.
Meeting
All three got out of bed exceptionally early in the morning. Anyon, of course, greeted her with a broad smile which Ivy tried to reciprocate but no one said a word because of the tense atmosphere that arose just after Ivy and Hax woke up who were murdering each other with their good morning eyes.
Everyone took their gear and without even stopping for a moment at the bar they left the building, each only sending a quick "hi" to Rikki before they left. This time they were not heading to the warehouse from yesterday, but walking towards the centre of the district. Ivy thought this was a rather unusual place to hide, but as they say, the best hiding place is the last place they would expect.
They passed crowded passers-by and workers until they came to a street with inns and small shops. They passed almost identical-looking shops until they entered an inconspicuous herb shop. The goblin sitting at the counter did not even look at them, preferring to continue his nap so he ignored the arrival of new customers. Although Hax and Anyon had most likely not come here for any of the tea, they simply made their way to the back without a single hesitation or word.
Ivy, of course, looked around intently in search of threats, but decided that the shop was like any other. Some small storeroom and filing room and of course the main customer room at the front. There was no strange smell either, just the smell of numerous herbs, flowers or teas. She waited curiously for some sign or even words of explanation but Anyon and Hax walked unmoved until they approached the door leading to the back. Upon opening them, it revealed.... the back. Simply an exit to an alley. Ivy reflexively slapped her forehead
"If you were going to go out the back, we could have turned a little earlier and not crowded through some shop” - she said irritably, but to her surprise the men looked at her with pity and laughed. Ivy even knew that she was blushing with embarrassment because she hated being laughed at, but she had not been able to control this impulse since she was a baby, so she stood red as a beetroot and waited for some words of explanation.
"That’s what all the fuss is about, to confuse the uninitiated like you” - Anyon laughed, and Ivy really fought the temptation to punch the boy in his pretty face for making a fool of her. But she didn’t want to pursue the subject so she let them continue.
The orc took one of the keys out of his pocket and inserted it into the door lock and Ivy already knew what was up. As Anyon turned the key and opened the door, a completely different corridor appeared to their eyes. Hax looked at Ivy pityingly and moved forward followed by Anyon. Ivy, on the other hand, stepped back and leaned against the wall opposite.
As the men passed through the portal and the door closed behind them, Ivy sat down on one of the crates and waited patiently for them to return. Unfortunately, she did not enjoy the peace and quiet for long. Some less than two minutes had passed when the door opened again and out stepped an annoyed Anyon and Hax
"Wow, are you guys back yet? How did the meeting go?" – she chuckled with amusement while drying her teeth to appear sweet and charming as always when she had something on her conscience. Sometimes she was not able to control herself when she made a biting remark or an inappropriate joke, but she preferred to play dumb instead of explaining herself. Now she just wanted to divert men’s attention from her behaviour, even though she knew that she would not get off easy.
"Stop joking and come quickly. If you keep on being a fool, we’ll never get to the meeting!" – a bemused Hax reprimanded her, but Ivy wasn’t going to budge
"Go on without me, I’ll wait here for you." – she waved her hand and leaned against the wall, making it clear she wasn’t going to move an inch. And she may have looked like a sulky ninny, but she didn’t give a damn. Hax did not like it, he clenched his fists and wanted to move towards her, but he was overtaken by Anyon who stopped him with his hand and approached her himself
"If you are afraid that we will harm you, know that you wrongly suspect us. We made a deal and we intend to keep it. We need you and that’s why we want to take you to a meeting. I promise you that not a hair of your head will fall off” - the orc said with angelic gentleness and extended his hand towards her, but Ivy involuntarily snorted when she heard his assurances.
"If you think I have you as a threat then know that you are losing in my eyes, goldie. I’m not afraid of you at all, in fact, you’re the one who should be on guard for your life, because you’re the one who fell for me!" – she threw hard and the last part howled straight towards the golden-eyed one. Anyon immediately took his hand away and a look of confusion appeared on his face
" Then there's no need to delay. Get in" - he pointed to the door, but Ivy was sitting on the crate and even wrapped her legs around it so as not to move easily, not even an inch.
"Go through the bloody door yourself! I'll wait for you here." - she said with an air of hostility, although she still tried to keep her emotions in check. However, just as she did, the men did not let go, which resulted in her fighting with the two men for a glance
" I don't care what she thinks. I'm not going to get hit because the lady is making a fuss" - Hax shouted and moved towards her. He wanted to grab her arm and drag her forcibly out of the door, but Ivy refused to be touched. She drew her daggers and immediately stood firm on the ground and assumed a defensive position. Hax, of course, was not indifferent to her warning. His hands momentarily turned into the paws of a panther. They extended their sharp claws to frighten Ivy and begin a battle for dominance. Each was murdering the other with their eyes and just waiting for the perfect moment to attack. Of course their skirmish had to be broken up by Anyon who pulled out two tomahawks and aimed one each at her and Hax
"Don't you dare fight now! We have a bloody important meeting on which the future of our investigation may depend. So if you two don't calm down right now, just know that I'm going to personally beat the crap out of you and throw you unconscious through the damn door!" - they growled sharply but the two didn't let their guard down. Ivy was slightly confused but still focused on the changing
Right she was surprised to see a pissed off Anyon but pride and instinct wouldn't let her relent. Even if the orc was telling the truth and was about to beat her, she still wouldn't let go of the weapon first and go through the portal. She also knew Anyon had seen it and knew he had to take the risk. He placed his weapons on her daggers and carefully pointed them downwards, with Hax's feline hands he did the same. In a way she was even grateful to him because she knew that she herself would not let go. But even though she holstered her weapon, she did not change her defensive position. She continued to look menacingly at the men and stood proud as a punch with her arms crossed on her chest.
"Every moment we delay is possibly another life lost. I am not going to put our brothers at risk because of one lousy brat. I advise you to listen to me Anyon. Either we drag her there by force or you will have to fight me" - Hax said it with seriousness and anger, and Ivy was sure he was telling the truth and would have even been happy to see such a turn of events. But Ivy was just as determined and the unfortunate Anyon was torn between the two. He stopped Hax with a hand gesture and looked at her with pleading eyes
"Please, come with us. We don't want to hurt you but the longer we delay the more trouble we create. If it means anything to you then know that I will vouch on my own life that we want your good" - Anyon walked over to her and grabbed her hand to place it over his heart which made Ivy momentarily stunned. Even without that, she knew the orc was telling the truth and all the orc had accomplished was to let her guard down. She also couldn't chase away the feeling of sympathy for the orc and the fact that she was reasserting herself in his kindness, but what hurt her the most was the fact that the boy was actually worried about her. Now she was damned stupid to admit why she preferred to stay where she was but his proximity made her uncomfortable so she clenched her fist and bounced off the boy with an apologetic look
"I know you're telling the truth and you won't let me hurt Anyon. But the thing is, I'm not scared. I just don't want to walk through that door for personal reasons" - she said with resignation and raised her hands in a gesture of defence. She really wanted to believe that the men would let go and not pursue the subject and maybe let her stay. But she was a realist and could think rationally. She knew that even with a good excuse she wouldn't be able to stay and the only thing she could do was to delay this moment in time
"What is it that has happened? Why can't you do it?" - Anyon looked at her with such concern that it made her hotter than ever. He probably thought Ivy was traumatised or something worse. In a way he was right but she didn't want her twisted logic to come out. Unfortunately, the orc's gaze wasn't helping her at all. It was crumbling the walls she'd managed to build and peering inside her and she couldn't stop it. She tried to look away but the tension wouldn't let her. Finally, her emotions reached their peak and she cursed under her breath and screamed, unable to bear his gaze any longer.
"All right, I'm coming through the bloody door!" - she suspected that the whole neighbourhood could hear her but somehow she didn't care. She was now standing slightly hunched over and catching air greedily to calm her breathing and get the pressure under control. Of course she was also casting a murderous glance in the direction of a satisfied Anyon and a pitying Hax looking at her.
Ivy knew she would not delay this moment. Hax moved ahead and Anyon let her through to make sure she got inside. Ivy stood in front of the door and already knew she would regret this decision.
A cold sweat began to run down her back and her heart and stomach began to rise in her throat. Her stomach began to ache unmercifully and she hadn't even come close to the portal yet. She tried to take a deep breath but felt that her lungs were running out of strength. She also knew that the longer she waited, the worse it would get. With her remaining strength she forced herself to take a few steps and by some miracle even ran through the door into the dark corridor, where Hax was already waiting for her, leaning against the wall. Normally she would probably have thrown him a remark so that he would not look at her with pity, but she concentrated with all her might to control her body. Right behind her, almost immediately, Anyon appeared who closed the door and came up to throw her a reassuring smile
"Gosh, so much fuss over a stupid doorway. You were being dramatic as if something was going to happen to you or you were going to lose...." - Hax didn't aspire to finish an exasperated as Ivy couldn't stand it and fell to her knees as she began to vomit.72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXf5MrPuV10
She could no longer hold back her torpor and alternating farts. She knelt on the floor and literally puked. She was already tired and the exhaustion caused by the effects of the magic made it hard for her not to fall face down on her own vomit. With a painful heart she was just returning the few apples she had managed to sneak Jas from the kitchen.
Her hands were trembling and the unpleasant torpor made tears appear in her eyes. The worst part was catching her breath and keeping herself on her knees. Still, she managed, only because pride wouldn't let her cringe in front of an audience. She was already angry with herself that she was now extremely vulnerable and getting hold of a weapon and rising to a defensive position was almost impossible now. She was embarrassed by herself and her attitude, but she could not reprimand herself, because she put all her energy into returning the stomach contents and not choking on the vomit. She did not even notice when Anyon managed to kneel down beside her and hold her up by the chest so that she did not fall down in her own vomit
"Hax, run for help!" - was all he could manage to command his companion, but before Hax could even take a step Ivy managed to grab him by the trouser and stop him at the last moment. Of course the bouncers looked at her confused but she managed to speak up before they could lose patience
"Nothing... I'm fine..." - that much she managed to spit out between spasms. She must have looked pathetic in their eyes. She knew she would never forgive herself again. With her last remaining strength, she endured the last waves of torpor and when she managed to control her breathing, she fell into the orc's arms, which was the only thing keeping her from lying face down in vomit.
The two men looked at her with concern in their eyes and slight disbelief and Ivy had to wonder how to explain it to them somehow. Fortunately, she was a debonair woman so she quickly came up with the idea of using a simple gesture instead of words, so in a moment when she was struggling for every inhale she managed to raise her hand to show her thumb raised and forced herself to smile what looked like the silliest smile in the girl's entire palette of emotions. Yes, she looked more pathetic now than when she tried to spit out her stomach
It took her a longer moment to bring herself to her feet. She knew she had to get up before she sagged and fell asleep in Anyon's warm arms. She began to squirm and the boy quickly understood her and picked her up and let her lean against him
"What the fuck was that?!" - fukked an exasperated Hax reproachfully. He stood with his arms folded and waited annoyed for words of explanation. Ivy could see that Anyon was also keen to find out what had actually taken place here, and she knew that without an explanation there would now be no way around it
"It's nothing like that. It happens to me sometimes" - she waved her hand and hoped to get away with it without going into details, but Hax didn't think to get out of her way.
"Are you sick and want to infect us with something? Is it some kind of poison? Tell me what it was!" - he pointed his cat paw at her again with claws gleaming like steel and Ivy looked at him with pity. This one was just a drama queen. She didn't want to waste her strength but somehow she had to calm the troublemaker and the worried Anyon. She rubbed her forehead anxiously and tried to sound calm and matter-of-fact
"It's because of the magic. I hate it. Every time I interact with it I end up like this. I get sick in the presence of magicians, sorcerers or in places saturated with magic and the like" - she breathed in one breath and did not even raise her eyes. Even without this, she knew that they were looking at her like an idiot and the sepulchral silence which followed her words only confirmed her in this conviction
"Allergy to magic? Are you normal? Do you think anyone will buy this fairy tale?" - said Hax reproachfully and laughed throatily, but he was the only one who laughed about it
"It's not an allergy, you idiot! I know very well that there is no such thing. It's just disgust. I have my own reasons to feel bad at the very thought of contact with magic" - she snarled in anger and tried to fight the thoughts which tried to come out from the depths of her mind to the light of day. But right now would be the worst moment, if her memories took control of her. She couldn't afford it, so she concentrated on breathing.
She also pulled Anyon slightly, letting him know he could go, and he obediently followed. He gently supported her and helped her past the confused Hax. They walked along the corridor for a while until they reached a door. Fortunately, it was not necessary to open it with a portal. Behind them was an ordinary hall, probably a meeting room.
A huge table with piles of papers. A lot of shelves with documents. Tables with maps and lots of information, directions and places marked. This was the headquarters of the entire self-appointed anti-kidnapping staff.
Waiting inside were the faun she had already met - Ford, and the reptilion from yesterday. Ivy looked at him with disbelief but also satisfaction. The boy was strong enough to attend the meeting. She was tempted to go up and ask him about his health, but she knew she didn't even have the strength to talk.
The newly arrived three entered the room in silence and ignored the questioning looks of the other two. Anyon helped her sit down in one of the chairs. They all, of course, stared wide-eyed at the half-lived girl but Ivy refused to even give them a murderous glance. She casually sat down in the chair and reached into her backpack in search of a suitable medicine. She took out her vial of her favourite concoction.
Domino developed it specifically with her in mind. Seeing how many times she staggered into the streets or came back half alive, he created a special amplifier for her so that she recovered quickly. It also acted as an extremely effective hangover cure and the fact that an enhancer was created from it was just a side effect. Ivy sipped the contents of the cloudy vial and stretched out more comfortably in her chair. Her strength would return in a few moments, but for now she concentrated on breathing.
"What did you do to her?" - Faun asked Hax gently, to which he immediately became indignant
"What makes you think that I did something to her?!" - he asked reproachfully and in disbelief, but everyone in the room could unanimously agree that if anything had happened to Ivy, it would have been because of the shifter. Seeing the meaningful glances of his friends Hax became indignant and walked off off offended somewhere in a corner.72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeg6La2KX9a
"It's obvious what kind of friends you are... Anyon! Tell them how it was!" - he pointed his finger at the orc and even gave the order indignantly. Anyon continued to stand behind Ivy and watched her intently
"... Allergies?" - that's all he was able to get out and shrugged his shoulders. The company looked at him in mild disbelief but Ivy waved her hand showing that her condition was of little importance. Faun sighed in resignation, but decided that it might actually be better to let the subject go.
"Cyrus is a moment late. Something has stopped him but he will join us in a moment. You can sit down and wait for a while" - he pointed to the empty seats and everyone obediently sat down at the table. Ivy thought this might be a good time to find out something about the group and her gaze immediately fell on the reptilon sitting opposite her
"How are your wounds?" - she asked uncertainly and a sudden attack of insecurity made her look away immediately to look somewhere else but at the boy. As if by reflex, he put his hand on his chest at the place of the stitches.
Ivy had already looked at him, but only now did she notice his face without a grimace of pain. He looked like most reptilions, i.e. like an ordinary lizard, but with a human posture.72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡidjU0NdqBS
This one had a slightly elongated round muzzle and a number of sharp teeth, which could be seen only when it grinned, so it looked harmless on the surface. It had scales sticking out of places, strong claws and, of course, an agile, long tail which it moved from time to time and which she found extremely fascinating. The most captivating thing about him, however, were his large pink eyes, which gave him an unusual charm, completely distracting from the fact that she were looking at one of the most deadly races of entia. Although his eyes were pink, they were exceptionally well matched by his shiny scales in colours ranging from blue to white with subtle stripes of even black.
For a bloodthirsty lizard, Ivy had to admit that he looked gentle and friendly. She was also almost certain that he was of a similar age to her and was pleased that he was only slightly taller than her. However, the reptilion avoided looking her in the eye and Ivy wondered if it was because she was disgusted that she was human or if he was also a little ashamed
"I'm better now. I'll be back to full strength in a few days" - he managed to say only that, but Ivy was sure he had other words on his tongue, but she preferred not to pursue the subject. Although, somewhere deep inside, she was awakening a desire to get to know the members of the group. She wanted to find out something about them. What their views on the case are, what ambitions drive them and what role they play in the whole plot. But all she did was keep silent. Anyway, as always
"You dealt with Myron so professionally that my help was unnecessary. All I could do was give him something for the pain and make sure the drugs to strengthen him after the blood loss were working as they should" - Ford spoke up and Ivy was sure she saw approval and gratitude in his sparkling eyes
"I did the best I could. Although this was the first time I'd had to put an entia together. The only person I sewed before you was myself" - she admitted with a slight smile to the reptilion. The man finally forced himself to look at her with his beautiful eyes and even smiled slightly
"Impressive. I have to admit that you know your sewing, and know that as a doctor I know what I'm talking about" - Ford sent her a wide smile which Ivy was delighted to see his beaming face but also to hear a compliment in her direction. It was a rarity and that she was appreciated by the doctor himself, and this entia, was a huge honour for her
"Are you a doctor?" - her brain disappeared somewhere on hearing the words of praise so this was the only thing she managed to say with the stupidest expression she had, which of course made the company laugh hearing her sudden and stupid question
"Are you surprised by this? Before we started playing detectives we had a normal life and we still do. I, for example, work at the main hospital in Queen Aria Square on a daily basis." - Ford did something Ivy wouldn't have expected. He trusted her enough to start telling her about himself.
She felt as if the barrier that separated her from the world began to disappear and as if some invisible force began to connect her to the group. Was this what it looked like to bond? She had already forgotten what it was like to enter into a relationship with someone and the thought that she was doing just that made her heart beat a little faster
"I normally show up in town occasionally but the situation is what it is. I actually live in Arma and help my father in his forge. I don't pretend to be modest either, I'm pretty good at it" - Anyon was all about showing off in front of the group and especially in front of Ivy. His slack posture when he leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head was really spectacular, but when he almost fell over backwards, the spell was gone and he really made her laugh.
"I'm the youngest of the bunch and I'm still learning, but I'm studying alchemy and potions under Professor Leslie. I may not look it yet, but you'll be kissing my feet when I become the greatest alchemist of my time" - stated Myron proudly, but the whole group could not contain their silent giggles. His haughtiness seemed amusing and disarming - "Well what? I'm serious!" - the reptilion was highly indignant at the company's reaction but when annoyed he seemed even more awkward which resulted in an even bigger wave of laughter among the company. Myron did not elaborate further but mumbled something under his breath and, offended, leaned back in his chair with his arms folded.
Now it was Hax's turn, so the whole company looked at him waiting for his story, but he was in no hurry to reveal anything about himself.
"Don't even count on it. I won't tell you anything about myself. All you need to know is that I don't trust you and that I will be the first person to send you to your grave if the thought of betraying or harming us crosses your mind" - he threw her a dry look. Ivy quietly laughed but she didn't want to top the man now. Clearly none of them had heard of her, otherwise they wouldn't want to mess with her
"I, on the other hand, know that you don't trust me, so I'll try to tell you more than Hax. As you know my name is Ivy and I function in this city as a mercenary, the main one on Kamino. I am active in many fields and have quite useful skills and experience and it should be enough for you that I have been hired for a cause and it is in my interest to find out information about the Serpents and discover why they have so suddenly taken to eliminating entia" - As always she remained humble and matter-of-fact.
She also preferred not to spread her name right and left. Right that she liked to make a publicity for herself but she preferred to remain known only in the trusted circles of her dockers or principals. She also preferred not to share the attention of others because there is a terrible hatred among entia for people who work in the mercenary profession. Ivy doesn't really grasp why this is the case, but it's mainly why she prefers to keep to the shadows and operate in places where a large percentage are humans and not magical beings. She also knew that more fame means more trouble and for the time being she prefers to live her life, poor but modest.
"I'm just curious, how it happened that an orc working in a forge, a reptilion learning alchemy, a faun who is a doctor and a shifter with a nightmarish character met and formed a group to protect the district from the Serpents?" - she thought it better to change the subject and ask the question that immediately arose in her mind after meeting a rather diverse group. Everyone looked at each other and I think everyone wondered what their origins were and it was Ford who took to explaining the whole story to her
"I think it started with some rumours. I heard some from my patients. Then when I was talking it turned out that someone else had also heard about it and became interested too. We started to meet and everyone started to involve others concerned and willing to help. And so a group was formed. We decided that since we were so involved we should start to manage it logically. We chose Cyrus as the boss, he's been on the disappearance case the longest and we're doing his support. We have our own underlings and supplies under us. Most of us knew each other before but we've only met now. And even though we come from different spheres, we are completely different entia, we are different ages, we were brought together by a common goal, to find the missing." - Ivy already knew why it was Ford who was doing the captaincy. He is outspoken and poised and knows how to manage a group and make himself heard. It's a wonder that such a seemingly unassuming person is so charismatic and multi-talented and knowledgeable about the subject
"Not the worst team. You are all really useful. I'm just curious why you need a crutch like Hax?" - She asked with seriousness, for which she almost flung a book. Unfortunately, she had such heightened senses that catching it in flight without looking was no problem for her. Ford, of course, had snapped both her and the shifter with his eyes but neither of them had taken it to heart
"Hax is one of our best fighters and spies. You'd better not insult him, after all, you're bound to work together" - Ford said, missing the words 'and now shake hands in agreement,' to which Ivy fought with all her might not to roll her eyes. It wasn't that she wanted to insult the group or exalt herself, but she didn't like the fact that with so many entia and resources they were making so little progress. It only took her two appearances to discover any breakthrough in the case. But that was probably because she was a desperado and hated wasting time
"If you still doubt me then perhaps I need to remind you again?" - he asked with a wide smile and madness in those beautiful golden eyes of his, but Ivy played unmoved by his words
"I want you to know that I've already been worse fucked up by alcohol than by you, and if what you demonstrated on me was the height of your fighting skills then somehow it doesn't surprise me at all that you're not making progress in your investigation" - she fumed with seriousness and complete sincerity.
She won't say she didn't get a decent blow from Hax but only because she didn't defend herself at all. If she really wanted to kill them she would have done it ages ago as the whole group is hugely deficient in defence
She was too focused on indifference and ignored the fact that Hax got up in his seat and walked over to her. He swung her chair back and pinned her down with his knee and caught her neck in his cat paws. Ivy was almost certain that his claws were capable of cutting through steel but she remained calm nonetheless. She knew that anger was a bad counsellor and she would win more if she stayed calm. She just wanted to wait for the right moment. Of course, the rest of the group managed to get up, but because Ivy had her claws at her throat no one dared to approach in order not to provoke the man.
"Don't allow yourself too much! You think I've shown what I'm capable of? You're only alive because I wanted to be gentle, otherwise you would have died before I dragged you to the warehouse! I also know that you're just a lousy human being who's only strong in the mouth, so it's better for you to keep quiet and not make trouble!" - he hissed in her face but Ivy showed none of her emotion. Instead, the rest of the group looked terrified. Ivy, however, knew they would be even more surprised in a moment.
She was acting so fast that she could kill Hax and he wouldn't even consider it. She grabbed his hand in both hands and pushed it away. She stood up from her seat and sat the man on her chair so that he was leaning with his back against her hands. In addition, Ivy sat on him and intertwined her legs behind the backrest to completely immobilise him. She grabbed the blades which she put to his throat so that she created a small trickle of blood on the man's neck.
It all took only the blink of an eye but Ivy was in control every moment of her action. Now it was Hax who was on the losing end with no way to defend or attack and Ivy couldn't look at the sight. It was apparent that he had not yet realised the situation he was in. She had often seen this expression on face, she even liked it. Every time she killed someone with that look she was sure the person had gone away completely unaware, without pain or suffering. And if she wanted to she could do the same to a man now.
His red blood staining his perfectly white shirt awakened in her a call that urged her to kill. She didn't even know there was lust and madness hidden in her eyes. She had wanted to do harm to a man for a long time and she finally had the opportunity. However, she wanted him to be fully aware, so she whispered in his ear so that he would revive and so that the whole group would hear
"You don't even know how much I want to hurt you" - she hissed through her teeth, but still tried to control herself - "I even feel a little sorry for you. You had no idea who you were messing with, you overestimated me Hax. You didn't know that I could have killed you in the alley, or that I could have broken free at any time and tortured you. You took advantage of the fact that I was gentle and ended up with a blade around your neck. What a pity. Such a handsome man, and I’m sure that your face will turn into a nightmarish grimace as you curl up in agony on the ground." - she began to wander the tip of the blade across his well-built jaw, but lightly enough to only frighten him and not harm him, for now -" What do you think? Will anything manage to stop me? Do you think who will be faster, your comrades or my blade?" - she asked with sparks in her eyes and a wide smile. If she'd come across anyone else they probably would never have behaved like this, but Hax had made a terrible deal with her and she loved administering justice and paying back her wrongs. She could now let her emotions run wild and the one thing that was still holding her back was the remnants of sanity that still screamed for her to get a grip
"Put the blade down Ivy, and put it down now!" - commanded Anyon firmly, but they didn't even flinch. No one even dared to breathe out loud. As a result, Ivy was able to watch in ecstasy as the blood trickled through her blade down the immobilised shifter's shirt. How his breathing becomes shallow and agitated. How drops of sweat began to run down his body, illuminating his already perfectly dark skin. She couldn't enjoy the sight of her prey. She'd hated him ever since the man had dared to bludgeon and kick her in the interrogation and now she could make him suffer as much as she did
"I just want to repay him for the torture" - she stated amused looking at the orc, - "Don't you think you can handle it, Hax? If a lousy, miserable and frail human like me can endure it, a mighty warrior like you will endure it like a tickle, won't you?" - She asked flirtatiously unable to contain her amusement. She knew she was going out of her mind and would soon plunge into a lust for killing and only a miracle would be able to stop her
" Go ahead, show them how people treat entia. Show everyone what you're like, you cursed brat!" - he hissed with a smile and was ready to die. Clearly he didn't even realise that he had just run Ivy amok. In an instant, she lost control of her body which completely froze.
Over the years, she had become accustomed to insults, but the expression on his face and the tone with which he said those particular words.... Ivy had just fallen into one of the memories that she had tried so hard to hide somewhere in the depths of her soul. She didn't even know if she was breathing.
She had ended up in a place other than a meeting room full of entia. She was now back in that cursed dining room. All she could see in front of her now was broken glass and her little bloody hands. She could hear all the insults and sermons coming her way. Even the voice she had heard so long ago seemed so real as if its owner was standing behind her again and preparing to deliver a blow to her head. She was about to cry, but could not get a word out, exactly as she had done then.
She thought she was lingering in the memory for an eternity. She came to her senses when the sound of falling metal spread across the room. Hax momentarily grabbed her wrists and pinned her to the ground. He growled something right in her face but Ivy heard nothing. She was still struggling with an old memory and didn't know what was part of reality and what was her past. She didn't know if she was lying down or if someone had picked her up. Was someone saying something or were the sounds echoing in her head.
It was only when she felt pain on her face that she woke up. She grabbed the sore spot and slowly analysed the situation. The pain in her left cheek was familiar. She had been slap. She tilted her head slightly to look at Myron, who was still panting and probably also didn't believe that he had slapped her really hard. Normally, she would probably have given him a sigh of disgust, but she was damn grateful to have found someone to bring her back to reality.
She blinked a few times and looked around the room. Hax was sitting insulted and angry in a chair and Anyon and Ford were holding his shoulders so he couldn't get up. Ivy was already able to distinguish the voices and hear them berating the man for his outburst of anger. Ivy momentarily became weak but knew she wouldn't be able to throw up anything more. She grabbed the table and leaned lightly on it to keep from collapsing to the ground. She had to get out of this nightmarish situation somehow. Thinking little, with a wobbly step, she walked towards Hax. She was stopped by Ford but managed to speak up before anyone could react
"Sorry, it's my fault. Before I got to the district I got high on opium, sometimes I get like that. I'm crazy, I'm sorry" - she said, burying her face in her hands because she didn't dare to look at them. She wanted to believe that all this, including this nightmarish vision, was the fault of the drug. She wanted to believe it very much.
There was a grave silence and a tense atmosphere. It was only broken by Hax, who broke free from the embrace and stood up from his seat. Instead of attacking or speaking out, he simply swept her away and sat down in his seat
"There is no point in talking to this junkie. Let's forget the matter and wait for Cyrus" - he instructed dryly and put his feet up on the table and leaned back in his chair. Everyone looked at him with questioning eyes but Ivy even wanted to scream with happiness. She think she had offended the man's pride by beating him so easily in a fight so he too preferred to let the whole situation go.
Ivy wordlessly sat back down and her expression showed that she felt remorse and that she was ashamed of her behaviour. Anyon, Ford and Myron stood for a moment but after a brief exchange of glances, they also silently returned to their seats.
"For someone who has supposedly discovered a breakthrough in the case, you are accompanied by emotions like a wake. Have you been beaten up along the way?" - a biting remark came from the corridor covered by the curtain. Everyone looked in that direction and waited for the owner of that male voice to emerge from the shadows. Ivy even expected who it was and even couldn't wait to see the man.
After a while, the dimidium she had been looking for so much entered the room with a proud step. The man was dressed in a dark tunic with his arms exposed and unbuttoned just enough to show his outlined muscles. He had lovely tanned skin without even the slightest imperfection or scar. Plus a perfectly defined jaw and yellow eyes that hid ferocity. A smile never left his face, but a few individual strands of perfectly red hair fell across his face in an attempt to obscure it.
Satisfied, he approached the table and, instead of sitting down, he leaned his palms against the tabletop and gazed intently at the company. Of course when his gaze fell on her he could not contain his astonishment. Ivy immediately noticed that his posture changed and his muscles tensed, as if he was reflexively preparing to attack or flee
"What's that? Some new acquisition?" - he asked Ford but did not take his piercing gaze from her
"One of the reasons we are gathered here. We have been brought together by common interests so from today she starts working with us" - he stated as matter-of-factly as ever and Ivy calmed down a little knowing that Ford was on her side and had his approval. Still, the dimidium didn't seem convinced by her. He folded his arms across his chest and started walking around the room thinking intensely about something
"You didn't introduce her to me at the earlier meeting" - he stated with seriousness but Ivy felt there was something suspicious behind his tone. She also saw Ford and the others straightening up in their chairs and trying to pretend to be relaxed so she felt that the conversation had gotten off to a bad start and was not heading in the right direction.
"Because... We didn't know each other before" - the faun didn't sound so sure anymore and he turned his gaze to his hands. Ivy could see that he had lost his confidence and no one was trying to support him in any way.
"You didn't know her? And that's strange. The last time we met was quite recently. Since then have you managed to get to know each other enough to trust each other?" - he asked with a deceitful smile and Ivy could already see that he was simply making fun of the group, which she did not like very much. She clenched her hands tighter on the backrest so as not to throw herself at the man in reproach. She pretended to be calm, but she could not look with respect or calmness at a man who despised his own comrades in the group. For her, such a leader would be something unthinkable
"She managed to prove that she is a valuable asset and that we have common goals" - said the faun proudly, trying to defend himself, but the man laughed throatily at his words.
"Really? And what has she done that is so important?" - he leaned on the table again and looked at her with eyes full of contempt and superiority. He was already displeased with her but she still remained silent and showed no emotion
"She had gained really valuable information, about the Serpents and about the guard. In addition, she was the one who saved Myron!" - Now it was the orc who couldn't stand it, and he pulled himself out of his chair to defend her from the man's gaze. Ivy, however, felt even more pathetic. If she wanted to show her worth then she would prove it with actions and not a few words. And the fact that someone else had to defend her was a great insult to her honour. The man, however, became curious at the orc's proud words. He even dared to sit down and reclined in a chair. Unfortunately, he still looked at her with a smile full of contempt
"Interesting... Perhaps then you can tell me what this information is? I would love to hear what a little human girl was able to achieve" - he smiled and said the words with such irony that Ivy in her mind began to wonder what she was actually doing here and what she was not doing on her own.
She's gained enough information and looking at how she's going it looks like she's done more work on the investigation herself like the whole group. And so far the only thing she has gained is some wounds and a hell of a lot of unpleasant situations and increased pressure. Jasmine will be giving her fresh bread as a reward for putting up with such annoying individuals
"Let's start with the fact that she saved Myron. If it wasn't for her, the Snakes would have already got rid of him and he would have disappeared without a trace. Additionally, she watched the whole incident and knows why entia are kidnapped. They draw blood from them and then dispose of them. She even took the equipment they use to get the materials. She also had a chance to talk to the kidnapper but he killed himself with a capsule of Resher. She could have left, but instead she took the wounded Myron on her back and carried him to the base and tended to his wounds enough that he was able to get out of bed today. She also broke into the station to discover why the guard was ignoring the investigation. She stole the captain's own diary. The conclusion is that the command has no idea about the disappearances. Someone at a lower level has stonewalled the matter and is making sure that information about the kidnappings doesn't leak out somewhere else. I'm also sure she could kill us, if only for revenge, but she cares enough about the case that she's still working with us" - Ford will just stand on the podium of perfect beings, on a par with Anyon. He spoke of her quite sincerely and respectfully. She was grateful to hear those words just from the mouth of someone who is a captain. She hoped that at least he would be able to convince the haughty Cyrus to speak to her. The latter, however, leaned on one of his hands and seemed greatly amused by something
"She witnessed the Serpents kidnap one of our own? And someone from the command? And you will probably still say that there was only her, the assassin and Myron in the warehouse? And most likely the assassin will be killed and she had to run away quickly so that no one would accidentally catch them, and to make matters worse there are no traces left in the warehouse? What a pity, what a bad coincidence" - he waved his hand with theatrical sadness and Ivy didn't damn well like how he mocks her and accuses her of collaborating with the enemy. She didn't want to speak up but biting her tongue had already become damned painful and difficult
"She wasn't involved! I may have drifted off a bit but I could see enough that she had nothing to do with the assassin. She could have escaped immediately after his death but she came back to get me before the Snake support arrived!" - Myron spoke up and she can see that he was outraged at the man's words. He also had the opportunity to express his gratitude and each of his words was filled with gratitude that he directed straight to her.
She was pleased to discover what support she had. She had Myron, Ford and, of course, Anyon standing behind her. Even if Cyrus and Hax were against her they couldn't ignore the opinion of the majority of the group and she hoped very much that democracy would do its job
"A beautiful gesture. I might even consider that a miracle happened and she came to your rescue like a saviour. But weren't you surprised that a human suddenly got involved in an issue where Snakes were involved? Did it not occur to you that it was they who sent her to keep them informed of our progress? They could have given her all the information she needed to buy their way into our good graces! Do you really think any human being cares about the fate of the entia? It's obvious from a distance that there's something wrong here and you've let her into our investigation!" - he slammed his fist on the table and stopped masking his anger with a broad smile. Everyone felt shivers down their spines as they felt the sinister aura emanating from the man. However, instead of feeling fear, Ivy felt immense irritation.
She had the entia so deep down that she would sooner kiss an elf than strain to do them just to spite them. If she really wanted to she would side with the Serpents and get rid of some entia in some finesse way, but no! Out of sheer kindness and willingness to co-operate, she endures wounds and insults just to help the investigation. And what does she get? Log after log thrown at her feet. She didn't want to prove her worth to someone who doesn't deserve it but even her patience had its limits
"Check me out" - she spoke up and threw a dispassionate look at the man, and everyone momentarily shifted their puzzled gazes to her. She had no idea if it was because she had finally spoken up or if her tone of voice was strange. Or were they surprised that she had the nerve to muzzle Cyrus? All in all, she didn't give a damn. She wanted to push things forward and go back to the Mortuary to hole up in her flat for a week and chop wood to unwind in some useful way. She ignored the worried glances of the group and focused only on Cyrus who looked at her with a raised eyebrow and seemed pleased that she had spoken up
"Well, well, well. Someone has a voice after all! It is a pity that she speaks up uninvited" - a mischievous smile appeared on his face again. Ivy saw that he was trying to get back into the game again but she didn't want to waste any time
"I don't give a shit what you think of me. I came here because it turns out I've gained more information in two days than you have since the investigation began, so have some respect, sucker. Secondly, goldie, I don't have to prove anything. If you don't like the fact that I'm here, I'm happy to leave. I just want a bargain, information for information, and to make sure you don't interfere with my own investigation. And know one thing, I'm nice, but until then. If you want, you can, like Hax, see for yourself what it's like to get on my nerves. So what? Are we going to start investigating, separate with peace, or do you want this room to be covered in blood?" - she finally made things clear for which she was extremely grateful to herself. She may have just lost in the eyes of her allies but never before, during any previous assignment, had she lost so much precious time.
This wretched group could only talk, not act! And to be surprised that so many of the entia was missing. If the Serpents didn't come to their hideout themselves and reveal the truth, then any of them would ever get to solve the case! She waited with indifference for the verdict and ignored the fact that a grave silence had fallen and the atmosphere had become terribly tense. Cyrus merely looked at her as if she were an idiot and started laughing. He laughed so much that tears came to his eyes and he had to grab his stomach. She knew that this could be part of some provocation of his so she hid her surprise under a mask of indifference and waited patiently
"What a funny human. Where did you get her from?" - he spoke between pauses and tried to control his breathing - "What a creature. Now I have no idea whether you are so unimaginably stupid or perhaps unearthly brave" - he muttered and began to wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes but the smile still wouldn't leave his face. Ivy was even able to help him with this so she put on her cold mask of indifference
"Inferring from the ease with which you insult me, I can safely conclude that you know nothing about me and have heard nothing about me. But you know what, that's even better. It means that none of my dockers and employers brag about me left and right to keep my services to themselves. It means that I kill with such precision that no one suspects a human of such perfect killings. It means that I work so secretly that no one is able to see me even out of the corner of their eye. I may be invisible to you, but know that death is most frightening when it comes suddenly and when you least expect it" - she got up from the table and headed to Anyon to get the keys, but her emotions got the better of her and he managed to turn back to the company to take one last look at them, focusing on Cyrus at the end.72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡccbNUuZlCR
- "Now I'm going to go out to solve this case just to prove how pathetic the entia are, because even with such great abilities you are useless having someone as your leader who can't use and manage your potential. But I don't give a damn how you deal with it or what you do about it. Therefore, good luck and may the better one win" - she gave a slight bow and snatched one of the keys to the door and headed for the exit.
She moved along the same corridor as before. She bypassed the puddles of vomit and opened the portal. With a determined movement, she stepped out into the alley and leaned against the wall to catch her balance and breath. She became weak again but pride prevented her from falling to her knees again. She overcame her torpor and went back to lock the door. She took out the key and quickly entered the shop. Without ceremony she threw the key to the goblin and walked out into the main street. She entered one of the darker alleys and sat down on the cobbles.
She had just remembered why she didn't like working outside Kamino or the Old Town. And why she hates long-term missions that don't allow her to return home. She hated the entia soo fucki'n much! Probably even more than they hated her. She hadn't yet to get along with any and the only and crucial obstacle was the fact that she was human. Everyone didn't give a damn about her skills, all that mattered to them was that she was of an inferior race and worth less than a shit in the rubbish. And she was already doing badly in life
Not only was she young, everyone took her for inexperienced, she was a girl, everyone took her for a whore, she was an orphan, everyone looked at her with pity, and she was damn poor, and everyone abhors poverty. Again, she had forgotten why she was still struggling to survive but maybe she would remember soon. After all, she had to get home somehow and without finishing the case she wouldn't be able to look herself in the eye. She gritted her teeth on the material of her coat and allowed herself to shout out what was on her mind and then stood up and shook off the dust.
Her emotions and facial expression returned to normal. She was able to start acting. She could see that it didn't work much in the daytime but it allowed her to look around fairly unhindered. She decided that she would return to a certain place. As always, she pulled her hood up for reassurance and put her hands in her pockets. She set off along the same route she had taken to get to the shop. The walk took them a while, but without attracting attention. Without ceremony, she went inside and sat down at the bar. She threw a few coins on the countertop and did not look at any formalities
"Tell me something about the kidnappings" - she threw to the barmaid dispassionately. The succubus looked at her with equally indifferent eyes, but she was not eager to answer. She stood leaning on the countertop and only shifted her bored look to her after a long while
"Isn't that why the guys took you to the meeting, so that you could find out everything there?" - she asked sleepily and went back to ignoring her surroundings. Ivy didn't like to impose herself, but if she spent another day doing nothing, she was going to go crazy.
" If I had to sit even a minute longer in this meeting and listen to their pointless bullshit, I would come back here covered in their blood" - she said angrily, but she wasn't afraid of how the woman would react when she heard how easily she threatened her friends with death. But she preferred to control herself and talk about specifics instead of complaining so she quickly brought herself back to order72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu7jiLskngb
- "Listen..." - she started with desperation in her voice - "I want to solve this case quickly and get out of here. I'm not going to act with them because they are only debating. I promise to solve this case as soon as possible but I need to have a little more information, without waiting on someone's mercy and listening to stupid suspicions. Will you help me?" - She asked hopefully and for reassurance took out a pouch of coins. The woman only cautiously glanced at her from head to toe and headed for the back room
" I guess you've already met Cyrus and that's why you got pissed off and came back" - she waved her hand and Ivy got up from her seat and followed the woman to the back. - "This case goes on and on and no progress. I've been telling them to stop listening to Cyrus, but they decided they needed a big and famous commander to lead the group and boost morale. Shitty approach, in my opinion" - she stated disdainfully and walked into the warehouse at the back. She started rummaging through something in the crates until she pulled out one of the smaller ones and placed it in front of Ivy. - "Cyrus is looking for something extraordinary in this case, and doesn't reach for clues if he's not a hundred per cent sure and risk-free. An idiot, eh? With so many entia and skills I'd send everyone out on the town and have them look under every stone! But I'm not the boss here. I'm just arranging accommodation and food at Ford's request. You're also lucky I'm cleaning up their rubbish. These are the notes they've acquired so far, but it's just their guess, Cyrus isn't even looking at them. Maybe you'll get something out of them" - she shrugged her shoulders and fired up a cigarillo while Ivy took to looking through the contents of the box.
There were maps in it with possible kidnap locations and escape routes marked on them, a hoot. She also saw some notes but they were complete scribbles to her and she wouldn't have read them anyway. But she already had a specific area and that was a big plus. She couldn't believe that the woman had such information right under her nose, so Ivy shifted her gaze to the barmaid.
"You know they might be angry that you're helping me even though they've excluded me from the investigation?" - she stood up slowly from the ground and looked questioningly at the bored woman. She knew that if Cyrus found out that she was rummaging through the belongings of his subordinates he would get severely pissed off. The barmaid, however, did not care. She sat down on some crates and concentrated only on her cigarillo
"I don't give a damn if they get offended at me. They could have walked away from Cyrus and probably resolved the matter long ago, but no! They decided that he was the only one who could lead them. And how did they end up? They wasted a few weeks. If you think you can finish the case quicker, I don't care who you are or what they think of you. Take what you think you need and tear along to catch these pursuers" - she stated with seriousness and Ivy took it more like an order than good advice. She grabbed the maps and she and the woman walked out of the back room to sit at the bar. Ivy immediately got down to analysis, so she mirrored the unmarked maps with her own maps.
"You don't suspect me of being on behalf of the Serpents?" - She asked without looking at the woman. Accusations were so much in her blood that she found it strange that the woman did not question her. On top of that, the barmaid merely placed a beer mug in front of her and looked at her lazily
" And are you acting on their behalf?" - the woman either avoided answering or simply didn't give a damn about Ivy's motives
"No, of course not!" - Ivy even got up from her stool and only now realised that she had fallen on her own stupidity and the Succubus raised the corners of his mouth when he saw her clumsy reaction
"If you don't, it means you're working in my favour. Now, instead of asking dumb questions then focus on the sentence, because I guess that's your goal, isn't it?" - She asked rhetorically in a melodious voice and went back to her class.
Ivy didn't waste any time either. She also didn't manage to thank the woman for the information and materials provided but she did leave a few gold coins as a tip for it
She knew that there was nothing to look for in the warehouse from yesterday, because it was empty and since their hideout had been burnt down, the Snakes had nothing to look for. She had to find another place or at least some intersection or maybe a possible base. She searched between the coloured lines until a thought occurred to her
"It doesn't matter if they kidnap or kill, they must have somewhere to hide the bodies because none have been found. They must also have a place to examine them, because that blood is for something. They move quietly and easily through the city but I'm sure there hiding somewhere away from the entia. They have a base of operations somewhere here. And it must have an easy connection into their main cult headquarters. They probably have some special escape route of their own, just what is it?" - she thought aloud and hoped that a thought would inspire her. As if burnt, she interwove maps and her own and those provided by the barmaid. And still she could not find anything. She got up from her seat and started walking back and forth.72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtCnuRtYBU6
-" I have the answer right under my nose but I can't see it. Think Ivy! You've got a hell of a lot of clues and guesses, you just need to put them together now!" - she chattered to herself under her breath trying to use her brain somehow until she decided it was time to put the scenario together from scratch72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv4rC5Xba1I
-" Where was the body of that cyclops found!" - she even banged on the table to get the barmaid's attention. The barmaid looked at the map and started looking for the right place
"Here, he was apparently lying next to the chute. The guys were lucky to find him before the guards" - she pointed to a spot north of here, closer to the wall. Ivy immediately started comparing this spot with every other map
"What kind of chute is this?" - the barmaid wanted to show her something and started looking through the maps but couldn't find any particular one
"The city has several 'chutes'. This is a special network of rails running underground to quickly transport the necessary materials or ores to the factories. The 'chutes' are the places where these raw materials go, right next to the designated factories belonging to the largest companies" - she said, showing several small points on the map, while Ivy looked at the map and at the woman with her hands folded.
"There is a network of railways under the city?" - the woman nodded slightly - "And nobody thought that it is on these railways that they can transport bodies or at least move?" - She asked in exasperation, but the grave face of the barmaid quickly quelled her anger
"You think no one thought of that? You accuse us of knowing this neighbourhood worse than you do!" - She asked with vehemence and clear anger and Ivy immediately regretted her boldness and calmed down in a moment - "Of course we took it into account, and as soon as the body was found! But that's impossible. The tunnels are closely guarded by specially selected specialists. In addition, each factory takes care of its chute, after all, it makes a profit. It's impossible for someone to move through them unweighed. The guards and the shaft security would have spotted it immediately and reported everything" - she stated with obviousness and scolded Ivy with her eyes for the very thought that they could have missed such an important fact. But Ivy had an advantage. She had checked every lead and every scenario, even the least likely. The fact that she was from outside the district made her look at the city from a completely different perspective and not dismiss any possibility
"Tell me how the security and the guards work" - she said indifferently, but a thought began to form in her head that could become the spark for her next move.
"Actually, each of the factories are linked to each other so that they can easily exchange information and available materials. They employ their own security guards acting directly on behalf of the company. In addition, the city sends its own guards to supervise the movement of materials and the work of the bodyguards. This makes it impossible to hide anything. If the guards are up to something, the security guards will notice; if the security guards are up to something, the guards will notice. If they are both involved, the city or the company will notice something" - said the barmaid with resignation, as if she wanted to dissuade her from the idea with Ivy giving herself over completely to her conjecture.
"Unless... everyone is involved" - stated a slightly amused Ivy, but the woman did not share her enthusiasm. On the contrary, she looked at her like she was crazy
"Knock yourself out" - the pissed-off barmaid gave Ivy a smack on the forehead. - "You think the whole district, from the security to the guards to the city companies, is involved in the kidnapping of its own citizens? Why should the city help the Snakes? People are at the bottom of the social classes, and the entia would help them kidnap their own brothers? You hear how ridiculous that sounds?" - Ivy can see that it's been a long time since the barmaid heard such a debilitating statement, but Ivy wasn't at all discouraged by her words. She even found it quite a plus. If everyone, even the average neighbourhood resident, didn't consider this option, it meant it was the perfect cover. She didn't want to pursue the subject any further, but to look for specifics
"Where are the factories with access to the chute?" - She asked, ignoring the disbelief in the barmaid's eyes to focus completely on the maps. She couldn't understand what was on Ivy's mind for a while, but she gave up and reached for one of the maps.
"These are three of them, here, here and here. It's impossible to miss them but it's also impossible to get there unnoticed. As I said, the guys have been very lucky lately." - he spoke without enthusiasm and Ivy, unlike her, was beginning to put things together in a reasonably coherent way. She looked contentedly at the map and when she had put together a plan of action she tucked the materials into her rucksack. She drank the rest of her beer and stood up from her seat
"Thanks for the data, I already have everything I need. Oh, and the beer was great!" - she said goodbye with a hand gesture and headed for the exit
"And where are you going?!" - Rikki slammed the countertop and gave her an angry look, but Ivy turned around as if nothing ever happened and sent her a lovely smile
"Get to the Snake's lair" - she shrugged her shoulders and left the premises before the woman could barrage her with grated questions.
Thanks to her not dismissing any option she had more leads and possibly scenarios. If Cyrus was also as broad-minded as she was, they would probably solve this case in a few days. Except that somewhere in the background there was a thought she wanted very much to refute because it would bring her more trouble. But instead of thinking about such far-reaching consequences, she preferred to focus on the current task and finishing the case. She moved north to the inner wall to search
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Complications
The spring ball was fast approaching and thus he had to focus on the best possible protection at the party. He was fortunate enough to have an extra squad of guards around Caspian to watch over him day and night. Edward informed him only that it was a precaution his father had issued as a result of the assassination case and the prince was told it was only until the party.
Edward did not reveal his suspicions about the traitor to anyone but he was on his guard. From time to time, under the pretext of reports or seeking information, he would go to the archives in search of a possible saboteur. When no one was looking, he would go to the places most frequented by the prince and personally make sure they were clean and safe. No one suspected that behind his formal mask of indifference lay uncertainty and disbelief.
He was so prudent that he suspected everyone, from high-ranking officials and guards to servants. His list of blame-free persons was short indeed. It included the royal family, a few guards, the prince's personal servants whom he checked the same day, and a few servants from the kitchens, gardens or stables. They were really few looking at how many entia worked in the castle and how many had very easy access to it.
This was also the main reason why he could not reveal his concerns to anyone, as it would cause great controversy and stop the smooth running of the castle and thus the city and the kingdom. He was doomed to search and fight alone to defend the prince. He really wanted to believe that it was just his imagination or a simple mistake but, the longer he looked at the case and considered it from different angles, the more he became distrustful of the guards and everyone around him. And he still had to pretend to them that everything was fine. It made him twist from the inside
"Damn it!" - he threw another sheet of paper into the trash with the names of possible guards to watch over the royal family and the guests at the upcoming ball. He didn't even want to think that he himself would have to run all over the ball and look out for a possible assassin.
He was distracted from plunging into dark scenarios by the sound of a knock on the door. He momentarily adopted a mask of indifference and hid all the controversial documents under his desk
"Come in!" - he shouted in his emotionless voice as always. The door swung open slightly and Diana entered, to his surprise. It was obvious that she had taken off from work as she was still wearing her gown. The woman closed the door softly behind her and walked slowly to the desk to sit down on the counter beside him.
"Are you very busy?" - She asked, mirroring the mass of papers that were perfectly stacked on the desk. Edward didn't know what the woman was expecting, but he had to be on his guard and make sure that his tense posture didn't make itself known
"A bit of paperwork. Everyone gets stressed and nervous before the upcoming ball" - he didn't lie, he didn't tell the truth either and he spoke in fairly general terms. Someone like him knew how to keep a conversation going so as not to say too much and find out more so for the time being he was not worried about the fate of the conversation
"You can see that the whole castle is in a fix. That's why I understand you perfectly and I haven't come to take up much of your precious time!" - she said quickly with a broad smile and Edward looked at her in concentration waiting for her to reveal the purpose of her visit.
He could see that the woman was thinking about something, as if searching for the right words and building up tension in the process. He had no idea what to expect from the woman. This one, seeing his impatient face, climbed down from the desk and slowly sat on his lap and grabbed onto the his's neck with her hands so that he could not easily knock her off his lap. Before he could stop her, or at least scold her for her inappropriate behaviour, she began to explain in an exceptionally punchy voice
"I've just come to you about the ball" - she pouted her lip slightly and made that innocent look of hers. Edward had become immune to it years ago, but he knew that a little attempt at bribery was being prepared here. But he also knew that Diana would not let go easily, so he sighed and let the woman explain herself.
"I'm listening. But hurry up! We are both at work" - he ordered firmly, but the mere fact that the girl had agreed to listen to him was enough. She smiled flirtatiously and began to wander her finger along his chest bound perfectly white shirt
"I thought that since the ball was coming up, you would do me the honour of showing up there with me as my escort. What do you think? You and me, both of us dressed in matching outfits, a sweeping view of the castle gardens all around, beautiful music in the background and us dancing in the moonlight and thousands of stars. You could at least for a moment forget the hardships of your post and focus on yourself, or on me" - she said slowly and sealed her proposal with a few kisses on his neck
He, however, instead of listening to her, focused on a new problem. He had forgotten that every ball involved the same dilemmas. There was always a crowd of women wanting him to dance with them or have a drink or two. There were also those who immediately offered to spend the night with him, and several times he received marriage proposals. In his mind he curses at himself. In addition to his already difficult mission of ensuring his safety, there was the escape from persistent adorers. If it were not for the fact that he was not alone, he would probably have groaned in resignation and slumped tiredly on the tabletop. For the time being, he had to somehow gently get rid of Diana. He grabbed her by the chin and forced her to look into his eyes
"Listen Diana. I am immensely grateful, honoured even, that a woman like you has offered me her company at the ball" - there were sparks of happiness in her eyes and Edward felt her tense muscles begin to relax. Now he was even more angry with himself for having to let the girl down - "But I have to say no. I'm really sorry but it's impossible for me to be there with you" - he said quickly and hoped he wouldn't get a slap for it. Diana only moved away from him and looked for some moment of hesitation or shadow of a lie or a joke in his eyes
"Why do you think that is? Already someone else has invited you?" - she asked quickly reproachfully and Edward had to calm her down immediately before the girl took to gouging out his eyes
"What? No, no one invited me! I just can't. Providing security is part of my job. This applies to weekdays but also to parties, meetings or just the ball. I will have to focus on the prince and not on you" - he found it difficult to choose his words so as not to offend Diana and at the same time to convince her somehow. He also knew that no answer would satisfy her, but he could see in her eyes that she understood his decision. She crossed her hands on her chest and turned her head away offended.
"Why do you always give the prince as the reason when you dismiss me? It's always Caspian, Caspian and Caspian, I've had enough! - she got up from his lap and pinned him with her leg to the chair -" I really understand that you have your duty to the crown, but this is too much! You don't allow yourself to do anything, you distance yourself from everyone, you isolate yourself in your closed world just because you think you have to dedicate your life to the prince and your work. You have a problem Edward! And the worst of it is that I don't know if you're doing it against your will out of concern for your position or if you're just letting it happen because you're looking for an easy excuse!" - she reproached him and Edward felt as if he had been hit below the belt. He didn't want to be angry with his friend, but he was fed up with her not listening to him at all. He quickly knocked her leg off and got up from his seat
" Listen to me Diana. I really value you. You are a devoted friend, a brilliant doctor and a wonderful woman but you could listen to me sometimes!" - he growled in her direction and made her sit down on the countertop. Now he was the one towering over her. However, he quickly put on a mask of indifference and returned to his previous tone, so as not to frighten her more72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3gL1OnnFUq
-" I know you want to do right by me, but dragging me away from work to play with you is not at all what I need. Did it occur to you that I spend so much time on my duties because that's what I want? Because that's who I am? I love my job and the fact that I contribute to the security of the royal family and the stability of the kingdom. It's true that sometimes I feel like grabbing Caspian and making him do five thousand push-ups or just smacking him upside the head to get all his stupid ideas out of his head, but it's part of my job to help him grow into a worthy heir to the throne. I have to endure worse moments sometimes but I am ready for it. I wouldn't be worthy of being a soldier if I got discouraged by every stupid setback or difficulty. I just want to keep doing my job, without choosing whether I care more about you, the prince, the king or something else" - he looked at her with pleading eyes and hoped that she would understand him. Or at least postpone this argument to another time when he did not have so many things on his mind. However, he could not read any of the emotions on her face. The only thing he could do was wait patiently and accept a well-deserved insult or punishment
"That's why I can't stand you so much sometimes. You are so annoyingly.... perfect!" - she barked through her teeth and got up from the countertop to start walking evil around the room - "The best soldier in the whole army, a devoted servant, a good friend, well-born, educated, talented, extremely handsome and so very attractive. You are so perfect that sometimes I cannot look at you and at the same time I cannot simply let you go!" - she shouted reproachfully in his direction, but he was sure that she was also unsure whether she wanted to offend or praise him72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7lnp3TZuXY
-" You could at least once in a while start being like the others! You could leave a meeting once in a while, skip a task, get up a little later to lie on the bed longer or at least take some time off to have some fun. I know you like your job, but I am worried about you!" - she softened and came up to catch his face in her delicate hands and look deeply into his eyes with care and love72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQH9XU7HxUg
-" I don't want you to always act like you have a heart of stone and a schedule instead of a brain. Everyone needs some sort of respite and so do you, you just don't want to admit it. Let me help you and let me take care of you, and I promise you'll feel better" - she said softly and tried to reach him. Edward, however, stood still, trying to analyse the girl's words and behaviour carefully. She decided to use the moment of his stupor to bring their lips together. It took Edward a moment to come to his senses and only then did he move slightly away from the girl
"Diana, we’re at..." - he tried to stop her but she covered his mouth with her hand
"We're at work, yes, yes, it's always the same" - she was obviously teasing him. Something that for him was an irrefutable argument to stop fondling her was a triviality he was using to get away from her72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKU8amPN8qN
- "Well, I guess the castle won't collapse if you kiss me?" - she stated reproachfully and did not let herself be pushed away so easily. She grabbed his neck firmly and forced him to lean over her as she sat on the countertop. He couldn't get off or break the kiss. He had to let Diana get off and unfortunately he was easily reconciled to that thought
In a way, he wanted to placate her, because he guessed that they would have to argue a few more times, almost at the ball. In a way, he also wanted to make up for the fact that he had not spent much time in their relationship for a long time. But probably the most he wanted was to listen to her and escape somewhere from the duties, the ball, the assassination, the investigation and all his worries which lately gave him so much trouble
Therefore, he quickly gave into her embrace and even took the initiative himself when he sat her closer to the edge of the tabletop and spread her legs with his knee and stood in front of her, unbuttoning his shirt. Diana, of course, made no secret of her delight, but he let her do so, hoping that her humour would spread to him as well. The woman began to unbutton her shirt herself so that he could freely slide his lips from her silky lips to her neck
"You thought you'd be able to escape from your classes in the square...." - stated dispassionately Caspian who froze in mid-step realising the moment he had found them. Edward opened his eyes wide and used the moment of surprise to move away from Diana. The woman was supremely unhappy about the prince's unannounced visit, and she wasn't even going to hide it. She got up reluctantly from her desk and, with her arms folded, headed for the exit
"We'll come back to this conversation again!" - she exclaimed huskily without even looking at Edward. She made a slight bow at the prince and left the room slamming the door behind her. Edward was leaning tiredly against the tabletop and Caspian, leaning against the wall was watching him intently
" I know there's no way you're going to believe me now, but I really didn't want to spite you. It's just that I've been waiting a long time and I thought maybe something had stopped or you'd changed your plans or...." - Edward cut him off by raising his fist, which he almost put to his forehead.
Maybe Diana was right and he should take time off sometimes? Probably he would hole up in the woods and hunt until his strength subsided. But for the time being he had to deal with real plans. He calmed his thoughts and sank heavily into a chair. He looked at his pocket watch and only now did it occur to him that he was indeed the one who was late for class with the prince. Resignedly, he pointed to the seat opposite him at his desk. Caspian obediently followed the order and waited in silence for some words of explanation
"Forgive me for forgetting about our training. I was concentrating on something else and then Diana paid me an unannounced visit, in a way you saved me from an awkward situation" - he may have been angry that Caspian had again caught him doing something inappropriate, but it had the effect of temporarily freeing him from Diana and he could postpone the unpleasant conversation. And the prince, hearing his words, proudly lifted his head and even gloated in praise
"So I'm great even when I didn't plan it. Bravo me!" - he laughed with pride, slightly amused, and Edward would have given a lot to make the young prince's humour spread, at least a little, to him. But instead of building himself up over the matter, he came to the conclusion that it would be best if he returned to his duties
"You know very well that I'm busy and that I would be eternally grateful if you would forget my moment of insubordination and we would go back to our duties as if nothing had happened, what do you say?" - he asked with a forced smile but without any enthusiasm, which Caspian noticed immediately
" I could also make fun of you and call you a womaniser and not punctual" - he shrugged his shoulders and got up from the table. Edward sometimes hated him, but the prince was the only person who could make him feel better and made him stand firm again without the burden he was carrying. He also picked up on the young monarch's game so he shook his head slightly amused and got up from his seat
"If you want to carry sandbags for the rest of your life during training, go ahead" - the good humour finally started to spread to him as well, which pleased Caspian
"If that's the way it is, I'd rather forget the whole incident than be your punching bag. Now come on, help me move the dummies" - he went up to the rack and grabbed one of the sides
"Don't you want to practice on the square?" - Edward was surprised that he wanted to use his private room to exercise, but didn't protest. Obediently he grabbed the mannequin, which he would have just as well moved himself, and moved it closer to the window creating more space to practice.
" Being in your room I have at least a moment of privacy and peace. I'm sick of a whole tail of guards following me step by step. Do you know how annoying it is? They are so intrusive and don't care if I want to be alone in the library or my room for a while. They don't even get discouraged when I try to have a nice time with one of my lovers!" - he flaunted his displeasure as he warmed up. Edward knew that the prince's displeasure was entirely his fault, but he kept quiet about it and allowed himself to listen to the young monarch's complaint without a word.
As the prince warmed up and complained, he went into the dressing room to change out of his military uniform into more comfortable trousers and an airy tunic.
"Now you have a good opportunity to release your stress. Just tell me what you fancy, sword fighting, hand-to-hand combat, maybe wrestling or simple fighting positions?" - he began strolling around the ring carefully supervising Caspian's warm-up. Since he was the one who was late for class and had caused a wave of discontent in the prince, he decided that he would be more polite to him and let him choose the type of exercise for today
"It's been a long time since I practiced hand-to-hand combat. I want you to show me some punches!" - they both quickly stood in the ring and took up positions. On Edward's cue, the prince charged in and began to deliver blows aimed mainly at the head and torso area. Of course, he blocked and parried Caspian's punches without much problem
" Firstly that hands tighter and elbows higher. And again you forgot the proper positioning of the knees" - in one decisive movement he pulled his legs up and the prince landed impetuously on the mat
"Not five minutes passed and you already had to put me on the ground?" - he asked reproachfully and stood up, catching himself on his back.
In fact, the prince was gifted in combat and was really good at fighting guards. It was just that Edward was on a completely different level. No one is sure if there is a better fighter in both kingdoms. Even though their every sparring match ended in his victory, the prince was never discouraged. He was grateful that he could train under the tutelage of a Drydalis legend and Edward was equally grateful that he could be an authority for him
"You have earned it. Just because you're training with me doesn't mean you can brush off the basics because you're going to lose anyway. Your attitude is to be unwavering. Even when you're sure you're going to lose you can't let go, you have to fight to the end. Whether it's a sparring match or a fight to the death" - he helped the young prince stand up and made a small adjustment in his stance.
Who knows but he took the drill and the rules deeply to heart. Years at war had managed to write into him permanently a few ironclad principles which he now tried to pass on to the prince
"Again, you sound like the Edward of twenty years ago. I only hope you won't treat me as one of your subordinates or enemies" - Caspian admitted amused but Edward tried not to show emotion so that the prince could focus on the fight. He assumed his position and ordered the attack again, except that he was now navigating the prince as to every, slightest movement
*** a couple of dozen Caspian falls later
They practised a few punches and the appropriate blocks or dodges for them. It took them a long while but they were both pleased with their training. Caspian had an exceptional knack for learning so classes with him were pure pleasure. It only took the Prince a moment to master some material from the books or a new punch. This made him both a favourite and a hated student. He was quick to pick up a subject only to immediately become a master at it and be able to taunt his lecturers just to show how knowledgeable he was on each subject.
Edward couldn't complain as the prince was a hundred years too young to be able to face him in a fight, but his abilities were truly impressive. He himself was also glad that he could train with Caspian. He will never admit it out loud either, but he too learned a lot from the young prince. It was thanks to him that Edward mellowed and became who he is now.
Years of being instilled with iron-clad principles meant that even despite years of hardship in the war, he could not renounce his old habits. He only changed when a sibling was born to the young prince. Then, at the personal request of the Queen, he took the place of a private bodyguard and tutor to the only five-year-old Caspian. The disarming toddler made Edward give up his war career and set his sights on preparing Caspian for the throne, so that he could rule as a wise and just ruler of Viridisos in the future.
In Drydalis they still regarded him as the perfect weapon to kill and protect, but it was here in Viridisos that he got the nickname he liked best and it was 'friend'. It was also because of this that he had not returned home or to the battlefield for fifteen years. He no longer saw life outside of his service at the royal court and Caspian for whom he was bodyguard, mentor, servant and friend.
He looked down at the prince sitting on the ground. On the surface he had a stony face but inside he was glad for the mere fact of his company. He could have savoured the sight of the tired and calm prince even longer, but he was in an exceptionally good mood so he moved to the coffee table to reach for a glass of water which he handed to the tired boy
"Do you want to get back to practising or will you take a break for today?" - he took the now empty glass and helped him up. The price, still tired, moved to stretch out on the sofa. He sank heavily onto the cushions and put his arms over his head
"I'm going to take a break for now. And then maybe I'll think about how to take revenge on my assassination attempt which has made my previously idyllic life, into a real disaster" - he said seriously and Edward knew that he had only done that to start the topic of the investigation. Instinctively he looked around the room although they were both certain that his chamber was now the safest place in the castle. When he was sure they were alone he leaned back against the back of the sofa and put his arms across his chest
"For the time being, we still have too little information to act on our own, but Jasmine's mercenary is acting as quickly as it can. She is currently investigating a lead to get to the sect somehow. We have to wait patiently" - he decided that the less he said the better for the prince. He also didn't want to reveal his suspicions about a potential traitor in the castle to protect Caspian.
"Still the same. Some mercenary running around town and we're not even sure if it will do anything. But even if it does, the only thing we can do is wait idly in the hope of a breakthrough" - he stood up heavily to sit down and pour himself another glass of water - "So far I'm pretending that everything is fine, but I won't pretend forever that I don't know anything. I mean, I love my palace life but knowing that someone wants to get rid of me makes me.... I feel redundant. And unnecessary. Like I'm not a prince anymore and no one is looking at me. I don't even have the right to get involved in an investigation about myself! It's so frustrating. And yet the ball is coming up and I'll have to come off as perfect as ever and pretend to my boredom that I know nothing and life is wonderful!" - He struggled to control himself not to shatter his glass on the ground. Instead, he got up and started pacing around the room to avoid smashing anything in his room.
But Edward did not dare to move. He had no way of pushing things forward, nor could he find the right words to comfort the prince. All they could do was wait and hope for a quick conclusion to the matter, which frustrated them both
"I know it's hard for you. I also know it's new for you not to be involved in palace affairs, but you have to get through this time. You are the future King of Viridisos so you have to make it through. Now is the best time for you to show patience and faith in your subjects" - as always he tried to salvage the situation with rational thinking. He also knew that Caspian would consider his words and understand them fully, but he also knew that Caspian was not so much guided by reason as by heart, which was much worse to convince
"It is not easy to believe someone after one of your subjects wanted to slit your throat and the other one passively watched" - he threw in a reproachful tone, but his words were directed more to himself than to him - "What is the princely title to me anyway, if the only thing it gives me is my hands tied?! I am the future head of state, I have the knowledge, means and skills and I cannot even investigate my own assassination! What is the point here? And yet, instead of relying on someone trustworthy, I have to put my hopes in a courtesan and some foreign mercenary!" - he groaned resignedly and leaned against the fireplace. Edward hated to see him like this so he did what he could. After all, seeing his future king when he was in such a state hurt him too
" I know these are just words, but Jasmine really commits herself to the investigation and devotes herself completely to it. She also vows that her mercenary is always doing her job and really, they have gained a lot of information in a short time. If it goes on like this, the investigation will end really quickly and our depressing conversation will be just a fuzzy memory!" - he tried to console the prince and hoped that he would also tell himself this. There was really nothing the two of them could do and all their strength could only be spent in believing in the Jas's mercenary. He knew it was pathetic but unfortunately he could not act otherwise now
"This speaks well of us. Caspian Logan Arelox and Edward Hosen are less useful than Jasmine of Fantaber and the unknown mercenary. I swear that when this affair is over we'll have to give them our places of honour in the crypts!" - he winked with a fake smile and returned to the ring to start lashing out at the dummy. Edward couldn't even contradict him. For him it was just as painful to bear the thought that someone with his skills was actually expendable and passive about the assassination of his prince
"You know what? This whole investigation makes us both feel worthless. So I suggest we change the subject and focus on something more pleasant!" - he suddenly had a flashback and made it a priority to change the subject to something more pleasant, something that would make them both feel better. Caspian gave him a questioning look, but after a minute he relented and temporarily stopped jabbing at the dummy
"Let it be. Let me focus on something else. And since it was your idea, now you come up with a good topic"- he said without looking away from his target and quickly returned to punching the poor dummy with his fist. Edward did not want to think about an interesting topic that would satisfy both of them, so he started the already tiresome topic of the party, which had been weighing on him for a long time.
"How are your spring ball preparations going?" - he asked with a forced smile and knew that Caspian was looking at him and doubting all his abilities and education
"Really? That's how much you were able to come up with, Mr. most excellent soldier of Viridisos?" - he asked with resignation, but he did not know that Edward felt an even greater loathing for himself as a prince
Caspian apparently read his embarrassment and decided that he would save the situation and his honour. He ceased his jabs and moved to the bookcase and pulled out a bottle of wine and two glasses from the bar which he placed on the coffee table. Without waiting for a word of objection, he filled the glass and sipped a few more deeply. Edward did not resist either, drinking the wine which effectively masked, with its slightly sweet taste, the bitterness of his embarrassment at himself. They both sat down on the sofa and spread out on the soft cushions
"A boring subject but better to occupy their thoughts with something. So, back to your question, I'm doing very well with my preparations Edward, thanks for asking" - he stated with a mocking smile and Edward made no secret of his annoyance and desire to knock his teeth out. The prince, in addition, took advantage of the fact that he was annoyed to annoy him even more72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxAWoOiIOMr
- "And how are your preparations going? Judging by the situation I found you in, you'll probably turn up at the ball with Dr Leman" - he said with a smile and Edward suppressed his anger. Sometimes he wondered where Caspian harboured such malice and why he took it out on him. And that when he is the only person trying to make him feel better!
"I am surprised, but no! I am not going to attend the ball with a companion, because I will be there on business, to keep order and your safety" - he tried to sound gentle, but straining his words through his teeth was not easy and the forced smile looked like a harbinger of death. Although Caspian could use a little fear and remorse but he sat, as always, unmoved, even pleased
"Really? Judging by your behaviour, I thought you got on very well" - he laughed out loud and Edward wondered what punishment he would get if he grabbed a bottle of wine and smashed it over the prince's head. Maybe none of the servants or guards would notice if the prince was absent for a while?
"My behaviour is impeccable but as soon as there's a moment of imbalance, where I find myself in some inappropriate situation, it's as if I'm always caught by you! How do you do it what? Is it some kind of conspiracy? You're so happy that I'm annoyed, angry and don't know how to behave!" - he fumed reproachfully at the prince and wondered why someone like Caspian had to witness his worst moments. And maybe that was why he had such a good relationship with him? They both knew each other's greatest sins and had to cover for each other.
" Come on Edward. You know I'm just teasing you. Besides, no one would mind if you found some entertainment. You're doing a great job anyway, and you deserve a break and a diversion. And besides, I'm sure there will be quite a queue of entia in the castle, willing to help you with it"- he winked at him and started filling the glasses.
Once upon a time such a conversation would probably be on his agenda, but not now. Since he had been serving at the castle, he had taken up only his work. He had no desire for any relationships, those requiring commitment or those without. It annoyed him enough that he couldn't have a day without some inappropriate proposal, flirtatious glance or bothering him. He had already become annoyed years ago and left himself one maid, elderly as long as she was not interested in him like the rest of the staff. He also tried to avoid the subject of relationships like a flame but, as bad as it was, romance was Caspian's favourite subject
"Compared to you, I do not get any satisfaction from escaping from my duties into the arms of a lover" - he crossed his arms over his chest and pretended to be offended. Caspian, on the other hand, was already waiting for the topic to come down to his mistresses
"You say that because you don't have a suitable partner, or several. Look at me!" - he stood up from his seat and, to make things even weirder, jumped onto the table. Edward hurriedly took the bottle of wine and his glass - "I have been removed from the spawn of the crown, everyone is hiding from me the fact that someone threatened me, some stranger wanted to cut my throat at the back of the brothel and yet I have no influence and am dependent on my own investigation, and yet I am sooooo happy!" - he spread his arms and got down from the table only to snatch the bottle of wine out of his hands and jump on his bed and start jumping. Edward didn't want to spoil his mood but regretted jumping on his freshly laundered fur of the Eramean Fox. -" And do you know why?" - he asked with a mysterious glint in his eye
"Could you please not jump on the fur?" - he asked hopefully, but he knew the prince well enough to know that the prince was answering his own questions, completely ignoring him
"Thanks to my lovers!" - He shouted proudly in effect spilling wine on his pillows. Nevertheless, Edward held on bravely and tried not to look at the red liquid staining the perfectly white material - "Thanks to them I can focus on everything else but my problems. I was depressed after the action in Albedo - Zaria came to my rescue. I was bored in the library - Kirke kept me busy. I was tired after training - Nia was like a ice for my muscles. I also can't ignore Garciella, Sue, Makki or Nami. Any one of them can take my gloomy thoughts away from me, you should find someone like that too!" - he stated proudly and brooded on the mattress.
Edward knew he would have to change the bedding and the wine stains would not come off easily. He also preferred to think about new pillowcases rather than ponder his friend's advice. Caspian was young and wanted to hang out. He, on the other hand, already has over a hundred and a really considerable amount of experience. He had already grown out of lovers years ago and was not about to indulge in lewd fancies. Besides, he knew very well that masking one's problems with someone else's person would not make the problem disappear, but Caspian would probably not soon realise this.
"If I were these, seventy years younger I might consider your proposal, but I won't do it now. Instead of telling me that I have a problem and suggesting a poor solution, you'd better understand that I prefer to get on with my work because I like it and this is how I unwind" - he got up from the sofa to grab the prince by the collar and lift him from the bed and carry him to the sofa, like a cat with its own cat. The prince hugged the bottle tightly and looked at him amused, he didn't seem to mind that he was just being chastised with his eyes and being in such a position could easily make for a punching bag
"You're lying Edward. I know very well what you really think!" - he pointed the finger at him and Edward wondered what kind of bloody alcohol he had in his bar that he had so easily snubbed Caspian
"You are drunk my prince" - he stated sharply and put him down and tried to snatch the bottle away
"And you are a romantic!" - he shouted at the top of his voice and fled into the study to climb onto the desk and Edward grabbed his head, praying to the gods to send some humility to the prince, and peace to him
"Have you gone completely mad? Instead of talking nonsense, get out of there or I'll personally carry you out and bring you before your father face!" - he tried to take the most valuable documents before the prince trampled them or poured wine over them. He also pretended not to hear the prince's gibberish. Caspian, on the other hand, sat down slowly on the tabletop and looked at Edward with a wide smile and a confused look
"Don't change the subject. Just because I'm a bit drunk doesn't mean I can't see with my eyes" - Edward was on the tongue that maybe the prince was seeing things wrong, but he kept quiet in order to focus on saving the precious papers.72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsrnCsKNdrL
- "Everyone can see how you send everyone away. No matter how well-born, beautiful or rich someone is, you don't look at it. Not even Diana! No matter how many times she gets you into bed, you don't care. And why? Because you're a romantic! More than that, you're a stupid romantic! You're waiting for some great love you've read about in all those books your mother sent you!" - The prince shouted in his face with satisfaction and Edward tightened his lips into a narrow line. He thought it was time to curb the prince's urges, so without batting an eyelid he slapped Caspian hard enough to make him fall unconscious on the tabletop.
"Finally a moment of peace" - he sighed in relief and carried Caspian to the couch. Seeing that he had drunk the wine from Silva, he probably won't remember why he had ended up unconscious, but it's a very good thing too. Edward didn't like how his ideals were mocked. Maybe the prince was a bit right but he preferred not to come across as a lunatic.72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLOfdsJy34m
- "I want to find someone who will bear me a son to take over my estate in Drydalis and my position in Viridisos in the future. I am not looking for love because I will not find it. I care about a purely business acquaintance, and not the fun of a perfect relationship. But looking at a light-hearted man like you, I don't think you'll understand this even in two hundred years" - he began to clean up the mess and speak to the unconscious prince.
He adored him but sometimes he had to simply silence him before the prince would say something he shouldn't. He also didn't want to delve into his heart dilemmas, so he summoned a servant to take care of his stained bedding, while he himself went back to arranging his schedule to ensure he was as productive as possible
72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOctuuvy7lp
New plan!
It was the middle of the day when she arrived at the site of one of the outposts so there were quite a few onlookers and employees or passers-by walking around. She may have walked most of the way through the squeezes but, to her misfortune, the chute shafts and drains had no points of contact and she had no way of making a smooth transition from one network to the other. She had to get out and carefully, hiding in the crowd, sneak into the factory premises.
This factory dealt with the smelting of metals. Thanks to chutes, raw ore was delivered to it, which was melted down in the factory and then sent to other factories. This meant that it was crawling with workers, transport routes, security, guards and heavy equipment. The worst possible place for a silent search. She had to hide between crates and watch. But there were so many entia passing through the square that she had trouble focusing on anything. And the noise of the place made it impossible for her to hear her own thoughts. Somehow, she had to get a glimpse of the building and the staff in the back, but she didn't know how to do it. It was fine as long as she was hidden, but if she came out, she would have to act quickly and decisively. She would need to have a route of action and an escape route prepared. She also didn't have plans of the building so she didn't know where to go.
"Fucking hell, what kind of place is this!" - she cursed in her mind, unable to find a way out of the situation. She could sneak in at night when there were fewer employees around. But she would have to find the plans of the factory and the shafts right away, and figure out how to nimbly move around the place. There was nothing she could do but have to let go temporarily.
And also to escape now she had to make an effort. She had to place bang bombs and she had to put one guard down, he was probably deaf but he could see her, so she struggled to get to the inner wall separating the BrickStreet from Rey. Finally she had a moment of peace which she used to think
"If I had better equipment maybe it would be easier for me?" - That was the only thought that came to her. And she even knew who she could count on. She immediately jumped into the sewer and ran under the city to jump out of a manhole somewhere in an alley in King Silas Square.
She climbed the wall and, without knocking on the window, opened the balcony. She knew there was someone else in the flat besides Jasmine, so she had to be careful. She loaded a dart and aimed it at the old woman roosting in the kitchen. For sure she was Jasmine's maid, but Ivy couldn't afford to let the old woman see her. She already wanted to shoot at her, but she couldn't shoot the old woman like a duck, by virtue of being an ordinary civilian. If she had been sure that the granny was some kind of criminal then she would have had no problem with it.
She quickly let go and decided to find another way to Jas. Instead of entering through the living room, she entered through the study. She opened the window and quietly went inside. It was empty. No sign of Jasmine. All she could smell was her scent, intense, which meant that the woman had still been in the room a while ago. She decided she would check the bathroom.
Only good thing was that the room had two doors, one leading to the living room and the other leading to the corridor. Having been here last time, Ivy looked at the ornaments and the handles. She cautiously stepped out into the corridor and made sure the housekeeper was still in the kitchen, oblivious to the presence of an intruder.
Ivy now grabbed the door handle and was pleased to discover that the bathroom door was locked from the inside. Meaning Jasmine was inside. Now she had to pry her out of there, without interference from the servants. She had no idea how to do it so as not to frighten Jasmine and make a fuss. Thinking little, she pulled out one of her throwing knives and slipped it inside through a crack under the door.
She quickly escaped from under the door and hid behind the bedroom door. She hoped that Jasmine would understand the message and when she noticed the knife, she would realise that Ivy was inside. She peeked through the keyhole and waited for a reaction and watched out for the housekeeper
About ten minutes had passed when a scream rang through the house from Jas 72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjowscPxjD4
-"Fucki'n sake"- Ivy cursed under her breath and slapped her forehead. She was almost certain that the blonde hadn't noticed the blade and had impaled on it like tramp
"Miss, are you all right?" - The maid ran up to the door and started knocking. Clearly she was upset
"I cut my leg! I think I stepped on something sharp, it hurts!" - came a shout from behind the door and Ivy banged her head against the door, unable to control her irritation.
"Don't move, miss! Stop the bleeding with a towel and I will get help immediately!" - the old lady ran to the door and only managed to grab her coat on the way.
Ivy got up lazily and walked to the door to open it with a lock pick. She put her hands in her pockets and kicked the door with her boot. Just as she thought, Jas was sitting on the ground dressed in a silky white dressing gown and her leg was wrapped carelessly in a towel. She also made big eyes at the sight of her
"Ivy? And what are you doing here?" - she asked trying to get up but Ivy knelt down before the blonde could hurt herself more
"I'm fucking collecting mushrooms" - she snarled dripping with sarcasm but the smile was off her face before Jas could drag her speech out - "Gosh. Of course I came here on a mission! And that knife was my doing. I thought you would notice it and leave the bathroom without disturbing anyone, but it turned out like this" - she groaned resignedly and started to stop the bleeding as she should, since the blonde had no idea how to treat the wound properly
"Mission? You mean you already found something?" - she asked hopefully and happily, as if she had forgotten that she was bleeding. Ivy, however, had to disappoint her
"Nothing concrete. I have a theory that I've decided to test, but I don't think I can do it with my equipment" she said with resignation and gathered her strength to do something that would be one of the stains on her honour - "That's why I came to.... to... to ask for your fucking help!" - she stated quickly through clenched teeth. She hated begging or asking someone but now she had no choice. For her it was a special moment and she was taking it badly, but for Jasmine it was indifferent.
" All right. Say what you need to" - she said indifferently, and Ivy thanked her in her mind that she wasn't making fun of her or putting a pitiful look on her face. Ivy took the list out of her backpack to better explain everything.
"I need the materials on this list, and I need them now. Your employer promised to support me in the back, so now he has the opportunity to prove himself" - she pretended to be proud and haughty and hoped that Jasmine would take it that Ivy was not at all counting on her favour. The blonde, however, did not seem to analyse her feelings and instead looked at the list with concentration
"Fine. I can place the order now with my accountant or I can send the list to my employer for him to finalise the transaction" - she said dispassionately and looked at Ivy with concentration, waiting for her verdict.
"And what will be faster? I want these materials to reach a scientist's workshop as soon as possible" - she hoped that maybe Iwo would be able to create something interesting and necessary before night falls.
"I will go to the accountant. I will ask him to purchase the materials and leave them with me. You'll be able to pick them up easily when they arrive. You will probably have your list by the evening" - she shrugged her shoulders as if nothing had happened, but Ivy wanted to squeal with happiness. For Jasmine it was child's play to get the materials. If she had done it herself, she would probably have searched blindly around the city for days, but this way she could breathe a sigh of relief having one less problem to worry about.
"Thanks, Jasmine, you are irreplaceable" - she said admiringly to the blonde and her face lit up in a moment
"I know, but you can keep complimenting me" - Jas smiled broadly and seemed to have forgotten that her leg was still bleeding. On top of that, Ivy was sure the doctor and maid would show up soon so she had to run away
"I'd like to talk more but I don't want anyone to see me. I'll come back tonight and we'll talk then. For now, keep pressure on the wound and sit still" - she instructed with a slight smile for comfort and got up from the floor. She moved to the living room and went outside through the balcony.
She started to jump over the roofs and when she found a quiet place on one of the unoccupied balconies in the hotel room, she took out her rucksack and started to look through the maps and to eat the already stale bread roll that Jasmine had recently packed for her.
*** some time later
She cleaned her weapons, mended her clothes, checked her first aid kit and smoked opium. She did this to waste some time until the sun began to hide behind the city walls. Knowing that the guards were making passages on the rooftops, she decided it would be safer to go on foot along the way. She quickly stepped off the balcony onto the main street
She avoided the crowds and with her hands in her pockets reached Jasmine's townhouse. She could not have entered except through the window. She climbed up the wall and stood on the balcony. She immediately spotted Jasmine sitting on the sofa. She knocked quietly on the window and the blonde immediately looked at her
"Nana! You can go to your place now, I promise I'll clean up the kitchen!" - she shouted behind her. After a while, a maid came out of the kitchen. They chatted together for a while and then the woman took her coat and left the flat. Ivy was now able to open the window and go inside looking carefully around the flat
" How's the leg?" - She asked with barely visible concern looking at Jasmine with her leg laid out on the table on some cushions. Jas, however, waved her hand unconcerned about the state of her limb
"The doctor said it was a minor wound. I was given an ointment and he promised that in a few days I wouldn't even have a scar left" - she admitted with great satisfaction. Ivy was not surprised at all
Maybe Jas was no longer a courtesan, but she was already obsessed with scars in her blood. No self-respecting courtesan could afford to have her body disfigured by wrinkles or scars, even the smallest ones. Of course, there were also such establishments, where hardly anyone paid attention to the appearance, but these were inferior dens. Fantabera, on the other hand, was an establishment on the level. Its own security and medical care on the level, a place for girls to sleep and relax, lavish rooms for guests, a variety of liquors, spacious halls and the most beautiful women. Ivy herself once tried to sell herself but, because she is cursed and disfigured, no normal admirer came across her. That's when she knew she wouldn't work as a courtesan and started working as a mercenary.
She won't say it out loud, but sometimes she envied Jasmine greatly. If she had been even half as pretty as Jaśminę, and without those nasty marks, she would have run away from the Mortuary long ago and filled her pockets with gold and spent her nights drinking, dancing and being entertained by men. And so it was she sat in torn rags, beaten, hungry and with an arsenal of weapons. But apparently this is the life she is meant to live, so she does what she can to get through it.
"That's good to hear. Sorry it's my fault. I had no idea how to get your attention without informing the housekeeper" - she sounded sincere, but it was hard for her to hide her embarrassment. Who normally slips a knife under the door? It looks more like a threat and not a harmless message. Now she realised that she was being a retard and that she had just shown it to the world
"Come on, let's forget about it. And Nana is harmless, she probably wouldn't do anything to you. Well, maybe she'd be a bit scared but I don't think she'd be scared enough to go down with a heart attack or something" - the blonde again didn't care much about the subject but Ivy decided it was better if she didn't show her eyes to the elderly housekeeper, she didn't want to have an innocent woman on her conscience
"In that case, why don't we get down to specifics? Have you managed to complete your order?" - She asked hopefully and got up from the sofa. Jas immediately became animated and applauded in her hands
"You came just in time! My accountant brought this chest into the flat a while ago" - she pointed her finger at the hallway, and the chest that was really quite large. Ivy couldn't hide her surprise at how quickly she had managed to process the order and how huge the order chest was.
"Gosh, how quickly. And how professional it looked" - she walked over and opened the lid to look inside. She had done quite a few orders for Iwo or other dockers involving stealing equipment so she associated some of the materials or mechanisms - "They are beautiful. Like they came out of the factory...And the shine! Are they new?" - she asked surprised and Jas laughed seeing her stupid face.
Ivy sometimes forgot what city life was like. Here, it was normal for everyone to buy new things or even order them according to their own tastes or needs. However, there was no such thing in the Mortuary. People could only rely on what they found or stole. Ivy herself had to acquire everything almost from the rubbish and the sight of new things, unused, was unprecedented for her. Iwo will surely be even more delighted like her
"My accountant bought them from one of the best craftsmen and tradesmen in all of Magdorn, high-end goods. It cost me a fortune but my employer already got the bill, after all, he promised to help" - she contentedly tossed back a strand of hair and proudly gloated at the admiration that lurked in Ivy's eyes
"This city will never cease to amaze me. In all my life I've never seen anything like it and you bought it like this" - she snapped her fingers adding drama to her statement
However, the longer she admired the wonders of the city, the more it hurt inside her at the thought of the Mortuary. There was only a wall separating them but the difference in their way of life was on a completely different level. Ivy didn't even dare to dream of what her life would have been like if she had grown up in the city. Maybe if she hadn't been cursed she would have worked with Jas and been able to eat or bathe in warm water every day. It made her cry with happiness and she quickly pushed the thoughts away.
"Thanks, Jasmine. You can be sure that a scientist will make a really good piece of equipment!" - she made a slight bow towards the woman and grabbed the box. It was sizable but it was longer as it was wider, which would effectively help her carry it into the sewer. She also immediately started dragging it to the balcony
" Wait!" - Jas already wanted to get up but Ivy obediently stopped and waited for her to continue in uncertainty - "You don't want to carry it over the balcony, do you?" - she asked in disbelief, but Ivy thought it was obvious that this was what she was going to do
"How else am I supposed to take it? I also have to get out of your flat somehow" - she stated with obviousness and went back to slamming the parcel, while Jas slapped his forehead and groaned in anger
"What the hell do you think this door is for?!" - irritated, she pointed with her hands to the door in the hallway. Ivy knew perfectly well that they were there but she extremely rarely used any doors. I preferred windows and so she did at every possible opportunity
" I know what they are there for but I think windows are safer. I'm not used to doors." - she shrugged her shoulders but decided that once she had listened to the blonde, she wouldn't irritate her more and force her to get up from the sofa. She grabbed the package again but this time she dragged it into the hallway again
" How about you tell me your plans before you go? Did you find something interesting?" - She asked hopefully and Ivy decided that a moment of conversation was unlikely to affect her plans. It might also put the girl's mind at ease a little, as Ivy is not sure when she will meet her again. She put down her chest and obediently went into the living room and sat down on the sofa.
"I started on my own and decided to check out a possible lead. I hit the jackpot and found the Snake boy. The sect is indeed kidnapping entia. They use a poison to paralyse them and then entangle them and drag them to some secluded place. This boy, it was strange, he was collecting entia blood. I don't know why but he was collecting it into strange vials. I thought it was the blood itself but he still wanted to get rid of the entia. I reacted before I even had time to think. I immobilised the kidnapper and freed the reptilion. My suspicions were correct, the boy had a tattoo of a snake's mouth on his back and poison at his belt and the knife he used was identical to the one used by the girl from Fantaber's back. I wanted to question him but he wouldn't say a word. I could see he was experienced, the way he moved and attacked. The strangest thing was that he killed himself. He had a Resher capsule and I reacted too late. It's weird that he used it. I mean, it's known that the sect is hiding something but, I don't think that would be a reason for their followers to hide Resher under their teeth! I picked up his strange chest and wanted to leave but I'm a retard and a masochist and I had to take this entia with me. I hauled it out of the warehouse and carried it to the hideout where they had ravaged me earlier because it's the only place I know in the district. And more than that, I had to be a doctor! Entia turned out to be in worse condition than I thought so I had to stitch him up and make sure he didn't past away before his friends came. I thought I was getting kicked again, but the meeting was quite fruitful. I formed a partnership with them and thought it would go easily. But then I met their boss and my beautiful plans went to hell. I got pissed off and went back to searching on my own. I found a new lead but I need better equipment to investigate it. That's why I came back to get better prepared and then I'm going back to the BrickStreet" - she tried to describe her recent experiences and possible future plans in some detail, but she didn't want to arouse too much enthusiasm. In fact, she hoped that her clue would turn out to be wrong and the case would not be as bad as she thought
"And the guards? Did you discover anything interesting?" - she asked hopefully. Ivy was surprised that she cared so much about this thread, but since her job was to provide information, she intended to do so too
"That the captain of the BrickStreet station has shitty taste when it comes to interior design" - she chuckled amused when she remembered the huge bear she'd had to spend so many hours in. Jas, however, didn't understand the joke and Ivy didn't want to mess with her head, so she waved her hand and got back to the serious topic72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqNprPWz1Qg
- "I broke into the guard station to research the subject. I reached the captain's office but couldn't find anything interesting among the documents. I also had little time, but I decided to hide and wait somehow. I managed to overhear a conversation between the captain himself and some colonel. I wasted a hell of a lot of time listening to them talk about bullshit, but I'm sure from their conversation it really was clear that the captain had no idea about any disappearances. I even grabbed his personal diary in which he makes important notes and there wasn't even a word about disappearances or kidnappings in it either. It seems that the guard command has no idea of any problem. It means that the case was swept to the lowest levels and the guard who dismissed the case did not make any report. Damn strange and suspicious but I intend to work on that too. I only hope that my suspicions turn out to be exaggerated and wrong" - she said the last sentence more to herself than to Jasmine and prayed in her mind that it would be so. She did not want to complicate this already confusing matter. Jas, like her, began to think seriously about the matter.
"I think I should tell my employer about this. He's concerned about what's going on in the guard and I think he needs this information" - she said with concern and fear. Ivy didn't expect Jas to be so involved in the case. She decided, however, that it was none of her business what Jas told anyone. As long as the information had something to do with the investigation, let her talk as much as she wanted. The important thing was to keep Ivy safe.
"You do what you think. But I don't want you to get too excited. I took the lead, but I'm not sure about it. And the guard thing... Maybe I'll focus on them when I have time, but I don't think it's important yet. I would like to think that it was a mistake of some rookie who blew off writing a report, otherwise the bosses would have focused on the investigation a long time ago. Or at least I want to think so" - she finished just whispering under her breath. Most of her thoughts were conjecture, but so far they were unfortunately proving themselves. She should probably go and make a sacrifice to some deities with the intention that this case ends quickly and she comes out of it unscathed.
"In the meantime, I will tell him what you discovered in the captain's office and wait for further developments. Keep me informed and do not hesitate to contact me if you need anything else" - Ivy shook her hand and thanked her with a slight nod.
She was glad to have some support in the form of Jasmine and her contacts. She didn't even want to spoil the atmosphere by saying that this order wasn't for her at all because she wouldn't accept anything from an elf. She simply took the chest on her back and headed for the exit down the stairs. But just to be sure, she went out the back side and entered the first sewer manhole she came across. Without waiting she immediately headed to Fetos and then to Cavae to hand over the wonderful gift to Iwo.
72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYwCTRIoE2u
Nanny
It was late in the evening when he finished his paperwork for the day. Caspian wasn't giving him any more trouble, just lounging on the couch in silence remembering absolutely nothing. Edward didn't want to explain the whole story to him either so he brushed it off with words saying that nothing like that had happened, only jumping on the bed he had hit his head and lost consciousness for a while.
He had just signed the last document which was his confirmation of the line-up of royal family bodyguards for the Spring Ball. He put the documents in the right pile and was about to get up and stretch his numb muscles. However, he was interrupted by the sound of a knock at the door
"Come in!" - It sounded natural, but if he could, he would pretend not to be in the room, so as not to meet anyone today. Seeing his only messenger, he prayed to his patrons that he would bring good news and not more trouble.
The young boy made a slight bow and went inside to hand over a tray with some documents. Edward looked at the young man carefully and took the swatch before quickly dismissing the boy with a hand gesture. He made no secret of the fact that he was afraid of what the envelope contained, but he could not delay the inevitable. He pulled a small blade from his desk drawer and tore open the envelope. Even Caspian was interested in the arrival of the messenger, so he got up from the couch and slowly moved to take a seat opposite Edward. He, however, focused all his attention on the note he had received.
"HOW MUCH?!" - he stood up and couldn't get over the number of zeros on the delivered bill in his name. He wanted to call the messenger and inform him of the mistake, but he looked at the ordering person's data and already knew that it was Jasmine, who had taken advantage of the fact that he had promised to support her financially. Furious at the woman and himself, he crumpled the piece of paper in his fist and struggled to control himself so as not to smash something in the room. Not only was he tired from the mission, the prince was annoying him and Jas decided to make his day even more miserable.
"Is something wrong?" - asked a puzzled Prince sprawled on a chair at his desk. Edward only now remembered his presence. He know that he had to control himself immediately to avoid disturbing prince. Otherwise he would have to explain to him about what Jasmine had discovered and the new potential threat. He had to get out of the situation nicely to make it seem trivial, so he put on his mask of indifference and sat down.
"Actually, it's nothing. I ordered something, but the amount exceeded my expectations. Of course, it's not too much for my budget, I was just a little surprised" - he knew he sounded sincere and that Caspian would believe him. He was also telling the truth, he had a huge fortune, he just didn't expect Jasmine to be able to spend so much and to do it like that!
"What have you ordered? Some new weapon? Or another kitschy cloak?" - Caspian asked with amusement and Edward felt his veins pop at the word 'kitsch'
"It's nothing you need to know about. O! And most importantly, my clothes are not kitsch! And my cloaks are a testament to my high social and material status! You're such an elf and you have no idea how important clothing is in Drydalis?! And look what YOU look like! A crumpled shirt buttoned up in a careless manner and your hair in a complete disarray. You look like a bum from under a tavern and not like a prince! "- Edward knew he was offending like a small child, but he could not hide his nervousness. He had been nervous all day, so now even such a trivial thing upset him.
He didn't look like the type of person who loved to dress up, but he had the habit of looking good in his blood. Maybe it was thanks to his mother, maybe the fact that he had always been brought up among the elite, or that he was high-born, but since childhood he had been taught to look his best, because it showed a lot about him. But even so, he did not dress like a prince and was not interested in fashion, but only wanted to look according to the etiquette, so now it was silly for him to shout on Caspian. But the prince simply deserved a little scolding by his behaviour today. And it must have worked, because Caspian stood up and began to look at his outfit
"I may be in a bit of a mess, I must admit. But tell me Edward, have you ever seen a bum in a shirt trimmed with gold threads? And my hair? In a way, it's always in a bit of a mess. My mother has been telling me to cut it short for a long time, but my mistresses love my long light curls" - he said with a smile and pride.
It was hard to accuse him of looking bad. The royal genes were too strong. Even in torn clothes, Caspian would simply look good. His obscenely fair complexion matched his intense black hair and his blue irises were the most striking feature. Edward was impressed by how perfectly Caspian's mother's features balanced with those of his father. There was much to question about who the prince had inherited his character from, but he preferred to keep quiet about that and get on with something else and get rid of Caspian before he had to smack him upside the head again
"Yes, yes, as you always dazzle everyone around you. You'd better go upstairs and brag to your lovers about what a day you've had and ask them to listen to how great and wonderful you are" - he dripped with sarcasm but he simply found it hard to praise Caspian sometimes. And especially because he would go into petting mode and force others to praise him to the point of boredom
"Do you want to get rid of me already? After all, you just finished your work for today. Finally you have a chance to talk to me, or exercise, or drink wine!" - he said with a broad smile and wanted to go to the bar, but Edward stopped him just in time. In a way, it is a pity that the prince did not remember today, it makes him have no idea how much damage he was able to do and how much blood he spoiled for Edward. But that's why he had to be swiftly disposed of in the chamber before he reached for the second bottle of wine.
"No, no, no. No! It's better if you go back to your place. It's late and you promised to get back to your duties. Therefore, it's best if you go back upstairs and get a decent night's sleep. After all, you have exercise tomorrow too. That's why there's no talk, no training and especially no drinking! Do you understand me?!" - he knew he sounded like his own father, but he had to look after Caspian and make sure he got back to himself safely and didn't cause trouble for himself and him. The monarch, however, seemed disappointed with his order
" You are awfully stiff today. I suspect it has to do with my memory loss, but I will consider this thread to be over. I don't want to cause you any more problems so I'll go and look after myself. Don't strain yourself too much and thanks for letting me hang around for a while. See you tomorrow Edward" - he said goodbye with a sincere smile as always and left the room with a slow step.
Edward could finally breathe so as soon as he closed the door behind the prince, he leaned against it and rubbed his face with his hands. So far he had Caspian out of the way and that made him have one less problem. Only one remained for him. He looked at the crumpled letter he still held in his hand. He was already angry, so he decided that he needed to vent a little and that a small walk would be a good excuse to leave the room where he had spent the whole day.
He went into the dressing room to put on something more outgoing than a tunic for exercise. He opted for a plain black shirt and suit trousers of a matching colour. Pride prevented him from putting on a short cloak so, disgusted, he grabbed his beige coat and set off towards the stables. He got into the carriage and had himself driven to King Silas Square. Somewhere deep down he hoped that the woman had a valid reason for squandering his wealth so quickly.
The journey passed terribly quickly, so he had the carriage dismounted a short distance from the townhouse, because he hoped that a light walk would ease his nerves a little, but when they stood in front of the door to Jasmine's flat, he realised that it was of no use.
He knocked several times and in his head he was already thinking how he would reprimand Jasmine for spending his money. He waited impatiently at the door, but got no response. He knew that the woman was inside because he could hear the sofa creaking with her movement and the intense scent of lavender with mint and a hint of nettle coming from the living room.
Annoyed by her lack of reaction, he started banging on the door for a good minute until the girl thought twice and opened the door. He wanted to scold her for making him wait, but he quickly smelt a faint scent of blood. He relaxed and looked at her closely and saw that her leg was bandaged. He guessed that she had delayed letting him in precisely because of the difficulty in moving. He took a deep breath and all the anger momentarily flew out of him somewhere.
"Caspian's bodyguard? What are you doing here at this late hour?" - she looked at him with her big eyes and, despite her lack of explanation, let him in
"Know that I have a name that I am extremely proud of so you can stop calling me 'the prince's bodyguard'" - It offended him a little that in the eyes of a woman he was nothing more than a simple bodyguard, but he did not want to start another unpleasant and unnecessary topic. Instead, he went inside and headed for the sofa before pulling off his coat and shoes carelessly. After a while he was joined by Jasmine who brought an extra wine glass and took her previous place at the coffee table
"Somehow you never introduced yourself to me personally so I decided that you didn't want me to call you by your first name" - she stated with obviousness and poured wine into the glasses. Right that they never got to know each other in an obvious way, but he knew that they both knew each other's names and it was normal that she should address him as such. Her twisted logic meant that now instead of being angry he was confused
"Never mind that. Or not? I don't know anymore" - he grabbed his head and sighed protractedly
Suddenly he felt unimaginable tiredness. He had already had enough impressions and information for today. He wanted to vent his anger somewhere, but instead he felt an enormous weight on his shoulders and a feeling of drowsiness which slowly took over him. Nevertheless, he had to make the most of the fact that he had arrived at Jasmine's house. He reached for the glass and drank its entire contents at once
"Where should I start? Why do you have an injured leg? Do you happen to have any new information on the case? Why are you buying yourself some expensive things with my money?" - he wanted to know the answer to all these questions, but somehow did not know where to start
" I stepped on a knife in the bathroom" - she said with a smile, completely unaware of how strange her statement sounds
"A knife in the bathroom?.... How would it have got there?" - he asked reproachfully but also curiously. He was often surprised by the lightness with which the woman made unusual statements. As if she had no idea that her interlocutor might misunderstand her or simply consider her an idiot
" Well, because my mercenary left it there for me. She wanted to get my attention, but it didn't work out. Or did it? Actually, I noticed it all too well right after I stepped on it. But never mind that. It's a small wound and the doctor assured me that I won't even have a scar left" - As always with a smile on her face she tried to reassure him, unaware that Edward was somehow not particularly concerned about her state of health, but he didn't want to waste words on her
"And you could explain it to me!" - he handed her a crumpled bill made out in his name. She took the piece of paper and looked intently at this and at him as filled his glass.
"Just a bill. Something wrong? The figures don't match?" - she looked at him questioningly, looking for some ambiguity and Edward had to dig his nails into his thighs to avoid standing up and hitting her in the head with a glass bottle
"Why is it in my name?! What did you buy yourself that you spent so much!?" - he was more furious that Jasmine did not understand his question than the fact that she had spent his money, and yet she was unmoved. She even looked at him with reproach and disbelief72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr92GdesUds
" You said yourself that you would provide me with financial facilities. And since my mercenary needed equipment I bought it for her." - She shrugged her shoulders and Edward calmed down in a flash. He had forgotten that he had promised to help the mercenary from the back. He hadn't thought about it at all. Looking at how Jasmine was greedy for money, his first thought was that the woman had gone to buy something for herself. Now he felt a little silly but he wasn't going to apologise or show something of himself
"What did your mercenary want?" - He wanted to change the subject as quickly as possible and in a way find out what his money went for
"She needed some new equipment or invention so she asked me to get the materials. I have no idea what it's supposed to be but she's counting on me to help her with her mission" - With every word she said, Edward wanted to hear more. So, after all, the mercenary and Jas were trying over the assignment. Maybe he had overestimated their capabilities too? He wanted to believe that, and a lot
"And didn't she, by any chance, reveal something interesting to you? Did she manage to find out anything new? Anything?" - He looked a little paranoid, but the whole thing was tugging at his nerves and any information was worth its weight in gold. The very fact that he could not personally investigate the matter was also tiring for him
" Surprisingly, yes, she had discovered something." - Edward did not hide his curiosity and sat down next to her so as not to miss any detail. Jas, of course, was a little surprised by his boldness, but she did not dwell on it for long, satisfied, she continued her speech.72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe7vZzBBAMG
-" Her guess about the Snakes had come true. They kidnap entia and drain them of blood and then kill them to get rid of the traces. Now she's supposed to be investigating a lead, but she didn't say where specifically. But she said she needed better equipment to be able to test her assumptions. So far she is only looking for clues based on her own assumptions, but so far she is doing quite well. I hope she discovers a new breakthrough soon!" - she concluded her speech with applause and a toast with wine.
Edward was absent-minded as he analysed her statement carefully. He was a little frightened by the fact that there is a sect in the city that subjects entia to some sick rituals. He will have to do some digging and try to bring them to justice. He also made no secret of his concern that things were beginning to take a rather macabre turn
"So progress on the Snakes is already being made, so much good stuff. And while being on the Brick, did your mercenary learn anything about the guards?" - In a way he was afraid to ask this question but he had to take the risk. He did not show his fears and he really hoped that Jasmine's smile heralded good news
" Just so you know!" - she turned slightly towards him and he didn't even know he was holding his breath - "To get a better idea, she broke into the guard station. Then she got into the captain's office and started sifting through the documents. Unfortunately, she found no mention of entia kidnappings. But she did have the opportunity to overhear a conversation the captain had with some colonel. She said they talked about nothing and a hell of a lot of time was wasted, but she put forward strong grounds to believe that the captain had no idea about anything. The entire chiefdom knows nothing! To be sure, she even stole the captain's personal diary, but there was no mention of any kidnapping in it either. Someone at a lower level, who dismissed the case, concealed the fact that there were disappearances. Some minor ranger must have made a mistake or acted to the detriment of the guard, but she said she would try to investigate that too." - She threw a reassuring smile and Edward started breathing again. And with what joy, as if the air had suddenly taken on a sweet taste. He sank contentedly onto the sofa and didn't care if Jasmine saw his silly smile.
" What a relief" - that was the only way he could comment on her words. He couldn't find the right words to describe his peace of mind. Now he had the certainty that no one of higher standing was acting to the detriment of the state
It means only that probably no one from the castle is involved in the assassination and that the lack of documentation is due to mistakes or sabotage by low-ranking guards. So just his fears about a potential assassin in the palace were overblown. Caspian was safe and he had one less problem. He could not enjoy the lightness that had just taken over his body. He had to fill his cup with wine again and toast his small victory
"I came here hoping to get a kick out of you. I didn't expect you to be able to make my day so much better Jasmin!" - he didn't know where he had found so much kindness for people, but he didn't care about that now. He wanted to enjoy the present moment and end his day on a positive note. Fortunately, Jasmine did not ask questions, but shared his enthusiasm.
" I don't really understand, but I recommend myself for the future, Edward" - they clinked their glasses contentedly and drank the bottle of wine one after another.
Edward, by virtue of being drunk, could take it easy and complain about work, the prince, Diana, the whole assassination case and the whole world in general. He also had one problem to worry about so he didn't have to be on standby at the castle all the time. Therefore, he spent the night complaining and laughing and emptying her wine supply in Jaska's living room
Courier
She thought she'd puked her lungs out three times along the way, and if it wasn't for the aids she probably would have. She also won't count the number of times she almost fell into the sewage or almost knocked the crate out of her hands which turned out to be more bulky than she thought. But miraculously she managed to reach the bars leading to the sewage exit
"Fucki’n finally!" - she shouted with a silly grin before falling with her face to the bare ground. However, dragging the bulky crate through narrow passages or the slippery sewer was extremely tiring. She even wanted to lie down now that she'd had the chance, but she'd already walked such a long way that she couldn't surrender now. She threw out a few curses and rose from her knees to grab the crate again and head west to the entrance to Cavae.
Along the way she didn't meet anyone familiar but she did discover a dozen new bodies lying on the side of the road. She wondered if this was due to starvation or perhaps some new epidemic. She regretted that she couldn't stop or look around the estate for answers. Instead, she pushed the crates into the mine.
On the way through hollow tunnels or small bridges, people looked at her like she was a moron. There was nothing to surprise about it. Ivy clenched her teeth, but even so, a string of curses could be heard being hurled in the direction of the godforsaken crate.
By the time she arrived in front of Iwo's garage, she had already managed to completely sweat her shirt and scuff her fingertips. So as soon as she was in front of the entrance she fell on her face and did not even feel like getting up.
"Iwo! IWO! I have a present!" - she shouted into the ground so she was not surprised at the lack of response. The ground seemed so much comfortable but the thought got to her that she was on a mission and time was of the essence.
She rolled over onto her back and forced her body to obey. She stood up and grabbed her chest by the end. She gathered up what was left of her strength and pushed the crate into the workshop while shouting loudly. She also accelerated so much that she only stopped at the wall. In doing so, she knocked a few tools off the shelves, but hoped that the noise would attract someone downstairs. And she wasn't wrong.
As she dismounted on the crate, Iwo and Haye came down the stairs, alarmed by the sounds coming from below. They looked at her concerned but when they recognised her coat, they approached her with concern and joy in their eyes
"Ivy! How good to see you! Are you all right?" - Iwo helped her off the crates and leaned against the wall. She was extremely tired but the sight of friendly familiar faces made her happy
"It's all right. I brought the materials" - she patted the crates and accepted a hand from Iwo so she could get up. She hadn't even gotten upright yet when, without knowing why, she saw dark spots if front of her eyes. In an instant she felt her strength leave her. She also stopped distinguishing sounds, because all she could hear was a noise. She had no way of reacting because not even a second had passed before she was plunged into darkness.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
