V1 C9 - The Dawn of a Great Disaster

With the loud crack of her wooden staff breaking, Hilda rolled into the far wall before collapsing onto her stomach.

“Stand,” Mania ordered.

With fresh bruises and blood pouring from her mouth, Hilda shakily stood up and straightened her back.

“Rearm yourself.”

Hilda slowly walked towards the stand of wooden battle staves, took one and moved back into the circle Mania had drawn.

Stood across from her, untouched, was a Machai holding an identical stave, though his had several indents and blood splatters on it.

“Again. Try to successfully parry the Machai this time. If you can’t defeat a Machai, how can you possibly be our Master’s knight? Machai, don’t hold back but don’t kill her.”

The Machai nodded and readied itself, putting one foot forward and holding the staff in both hands.

Hilda, despite her injuries, did the same.

Mania’s training had been brutal from the beginning and today had been no exception.

The training had been so intense that Mania had secretly sent a servant to buy a crate of healing potions specifically for Hilda to use after their sessions. Thanks to that, Hilda’s injuries, no matter how awful, were properly treated.

After the first two days, Mania asked Hilda if she’d changed her mind or wanted to stop, but Hilda shook her head defiantly.

“…I won’t…stop.”

Mania had assumed it was something like pride or stubbornness that kept Hilda from admitting defeat but, in the following sparring sessions, Hilda had gotten better every time.

She perfectly absorbed all of Mania’s teachings about tactics, weapon techniques, stances, situational awareness, and her reflexes had gotten much sharper.

After a week, Hilda had defeated her first skeleton; then, just a week later, she had defeated three at once.

Mania realised there was no point in having her battle weaklings, so she brought a Machai in for Hilda to spar with, and the results had been as she expected.

Hilda had been beaten, bruised, had bones break and cuts emerge across her body, but still kept going until Mania decided Hilda reached her limits.

One of the maids who tended to Hilda after their sessions had gone to check on Hilda in the night, expecting her to have night terrors or trouble sleeping.

However, Hilda had been sleeping peacefully and that creeped Mania out a little.

Today’s training had been no different.

The Dark Lord himself said that they weren’t strong enough to destroy Themis, and they needed everyone to pull their weight.

“Begin.”

Mania would turn Hilda into an unbeatable knight worthy to serve the Dark Lord, no matter how brutal or cruel her training methods had to be.

No doubt the little one would be angry with me if she could see this, Mania thought with a bemused smile. I wonder what kind of face she’d make if she saw this first hand.

Mania almost laughed but bit down on her lip before she did. “I can’t think like that. I can’t disappoint Master again.”

Even after the Dark Lord’s warning, Mania struggled to control her succubus nature, especially her sadistic side.

A loud crack echoed again and, in Mania’s mind, she had already guessed what had happened; Hilda had been sent flying again and that would be the end of their training session for the day.

However, to Mania’s surprise, the staff that had broken was the Machai’s.

Perplexed, both the Machai and Mania stared at Hilda who was so exhausted that she had to use her staff to support herself.

She coughed up blood and slid onto her knees, which prompted a nearby servant to give her a healing potion.

She struggled to get out of bed not too long ago; how can she be this strong? Is it her natural talent or is it the strength of her devotion?

Mania smiled and clapped, impressed with Hilda’s growth.

“Excellent work. You can take the rest of the day off. Escort Hilda back to her room and have a maid tend to her needs.”

The Machai growled, lifted the panting Hilda into its arms and left immediately.

Once she was alone, Mania folded her arms and thought about Hilda’s training.

She had struggled against the Machai in single combat, just as she had against the skeletons three weeks ago, but now she was capable of destroying a Machai’s weapon in battle.

“Why is Hilda this strong when the castle guards were so weak?”

Does it secret lie in her or in her training?

***

“Welcome back, Lady Mania,” an attendant said, bowing, as Mania returned to the Hierophant’s kitchens. “Lord Mímir wanted me to tell you that there have been no issues.”

“I see. Good work,” Mania answered indifferently, casting her illusion spell over herself, turning back into Olivia. “Are we busy today?”

“No more than usual, my lady.”

“I see.”

I know it’s for the Dark Lord’s sake, but this job is really boring. Though, I guess there isn’t anyone else but us Master could trust this mission to. Mania snickered when she pictured Abaddon as a server.

She opened the kitchen doors with a big smile and immediately went to serve tables.

Despite the incident with the Sons of Tartarus, the Hierophant was as busy as always. People from all walks of life had come through their doors, including travelling merchants and adventurers, prime sources of valuable intelligence.

As Mania passed by a table of adventurers, she caught bits and pieces of their conversations.

“-surprised that the guard don’t know who did it.”

“Well, what can you expect? The bodies were-”

“-happened not too far from my parent’s-”

“-a rival gang?”

Mania stopped and pretended to listen to the customers in front of her when, in reality, she was listening to the ones behind her.

“Are there any real rivals to the Sons of Tartarus?”

“Maybe they tried to mug someone and got themselves killed.”

“Even Tartarus wouldn’t send twenty men to mug one person.”

“Maybe it was a group of adventurers.”

“Maybe.”

“You think it’s a smaller rival trying to take over Tartarus’s territory?”

“Perhaps.”

“What’s wrong, Ronald?”

“It’s just…” Mania heard him lean forward and lower his voice. “I’ve heard some powerful members of the Night’s Eye have been spotted in Stonefall.”

Night’s Eye?

“Think it was them then?”

“Could be, or maybe someone in Tartarus wanted to kill off that lot and frame it as someone else’s.”

Who are the Night’s Eye?

Mania hadn’t heard even a whisper of the Night’s Eye since they bought the Hierophant; now, they were being spoken off in hushed voices as a threat to the largest underworld organisation in Stonefall.

I need to look into this.

Mania thanked the customers she’d been pretending to listen to, then went to the bar to find Mímir, but found him swamped by a group of guards. He didn’t notice her calling or waving at him.

She clicked her tongue.

She couldn’t ask a Raven or a servant to talk with the adventurers either.

I can’t let this opportunity disappear! I just need to slowly and subtly lead the conversation down that path to get the information. This could work.

After a quick check of the unfulfilled orders pilling at the bar, Mania filled two pitchers, one with ale and one with water, and then went to the table of adventurers.

“Here you go.” She smiled and placed both pitchers on the table. “Sorry about the wait. We’re always busy I’m afraid and we don’t have enough staff, so-”

“It’s okay,” a cloaked woman with a staff replied. “If anything, I feel a little bad about giving you even more to worry about.”

Mania laughed and quickly examined the five adventurers.

There was the cloaked woman, most likely a mage or priest, two men in full suits of steel armour, one with brown hair and the other with blonde, a man in leather armour with a bow and arrow by his side, and finally a woman with two short swords by her side in chainmail.

They don’t look strong.

“Don’t worry about it. More money never hurt anyone,” Mania said boisterously.

The brown-haired man in steel armour laughed. “I suppose not. I was worried when I heard that the Hiero had new owners, but I’m happy it’s just as great as always.”

“Thank you for your kind words. Did you know the old owners?”

“I did. We’ve always swung by the Hierophant whenever we’re in Stonefall for some food and drink, and we ended up getting quite close to Louis and Steve. I’m surprised they let the place go.”

“Steve wanted to marry his fiancé and she wanted to move up north, so he needed money fast,” the short sword woman said.

“Still, either your husband offered a lot or he’s a bloody good negotiator,” the bowman mused. “How’d you snag it in the end?”

“Well, my husband was very persuasive. He marched in, bags filled with Rhams, threw them down on the table and said, ‘There’s ten more like that for each of you.’.” Mania laughed. “I’ve never seen jaws drop so low.”

The table shared in her merriment and seemed rather happy with her friendly attitude.

Keep it up, Mania!

“What brought your husband and you here?” The cloaked woman asked.

“Well, he was an adventurer like yourselves for most of his life but, after I snagged him, he said he’d give it up and we’d settle down wherever I wanted. I’d always wanted to live in the Holy Empire and he wanted to open up a shop of some sort to support us now that he’s retired. So, we came to Stonefall, checked out the market and saw the Hierophant up for sale and just fell in love with the place.”

“It sounds like you two are really happy here,” the blonde steel-clad man said.

Mania’s smile turned slightly bitter. “Yes, well, we were, until the other day.”

There were a few nods of understanding around the table.

Of course, rumours have spread.

She reminded herself once more of the advice Mímir gave her after they’d been scolded by the Dark Lord.

“If we try to deny or avoid talking about the rumours, then that’d be worse for us. It’s best to acknowledge them and then steer them in the direction we want them to go. Acknowledge, confirm and then give them a lie to absorb rather than the truth.”

“I’m surprised that you decided to stay after such an encounter,” the bowman confessed. “I think most people would’ve either paid them the Rhams or run for it.”

“We considered it and.” Mania leant in and spoke softer. “We’re still considering it now, especially when we heard about the bodies.”

The short sword woman frowned and nodded. “Indeed. That was a horrible affair.”

“They got what was coming to them,” the blonde steel-clad man said. “They were scum and even threatened a beautiful woman like you. Serves them right.”

A few of his teammates glared at him as Mania’s smile became much more forced.

“I can’t think of it that way. It’s scary to think that someone killed them so soon after they threatened us. Maybe we have the Great Goddess watching over us or something?”

“The Great Goddess does punish the wicked,” the cloaked woman replied with a reassuring smile. “I’m sure that it was only a matter of time until those sinners paid for their crimes.”

“Yeah.” Mania quickly checked over her shoulders, then whispered, “I didn’t mean to, but I couldn’t help but overhear what you were talking about earlier. You said something about a group called the ‘Night’s Eye’. Are they people we should keep an eye out for?”

The brown-haired steel-clad man’s eyes widened, but he regained his composure and nodded. “I did mention them, yes.” He smiled. “But you do not need to worry about them. They’re a small group of assassins and spies, not thugs and slavers like Tartarus. They shouldn’t harm you or your husband.”

“If they tried, we’d handle them for you, oh fair one,” the blonde man added with a wink.

Mania felt a vein pop in her head.

I might not be married to Mímir for real, but what the hell’s wrong with this guy, hitting on a married woman? My heart belongs to Master!

Mania didn’t let any of her irritation show on her face.

“If something like that comes up, I’d be grateful for your help.”

“And we’d be more than happy to provide it,” the brown-haired man said. “The Hierophant is a wonderful place and I would hate to see anything happen to it.”

“Olivia!” Mímir called to her from the counter. “I could do with some help over here! Stop gossiping and give us a hand.”

Mania sighed, put her hands on her hips and shook her head. “Honestly, it’s hard for me to have a social life when you do things like that, dear. One second!” She turned back to the adventurers and smiled. “I’m sorry, but it seems like my husband can’t get anything done without me. Please come and visit the Hierophant again whenever you are in the city.”

“We will,” the cloaked woman said before Mania took her leave.

***

Once Olivia had turned around, Ronald’s eyes followed her all the way back to the counter.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Don’t you think it’s strange that she overheard me mention the Night’s Eye after I whispered it in a busy tavern?”

In the shadows above them, watching and listening to their every word, the Raven narrowed its eyes.

We might have a problem.

***

Once the shop had closed for the night, the Ravens locked the doors and dimmed all but two lanterns, to tell their masters about what they’d learned.

“Why didn’t you consult me first?”

“You were busy serving ten guards at the counter! What was I supposed to do? Wait until you were done and they’d left, so we’d learn nothing?”

Mímir sighed. “You are more of an idiot than I thought, Mania. Or perhaps you want to see his majesty to fail.”

A mighty boom echoed through the room.

Before the Ravens could even blink, Mania had drawn and stabbed her dagger through the table before Mímir's arms, less than a millimetre from his skin.

“Say that again and I’ll kill you,” she muttered, a dark aura oozing off her body.

“Calm yourself, Mania.”

“Hey, if you didn’t want this to happen, maybe you should’ve been on the other side of the counter, oh wise and intelligent Mímir.” Mania grinned so that he could see her fangs. “Actually, if your Ravens had done their jobs properly, then wouldn’t we already know about all our potential enemies in Stonefall?

“How many are out right now gathering information for you? Three? Four? And they haven’t learned anything new about the Sons or this Night’s Eye group. At least I’ve learned of their existence, their rough size and what activities they usually involve themselves with.”

“And in doing so have revealed that you are not the normal wife of a retired adventurer! You have learnt nothing of value and potentially compromised our operation, again! Do you understand the gravity of this situation even a little bit?”

“I understand that all we’ve done so far is gain basic little pieces of information and nothing else! Yet you dare yell at me for my failures?! We have gained nothing, Mímir, in weeks! We need to reconsider our strategy and we need to find out how strong our enemies are.”

“How do you propose to do that?”

Mania purred as a cruel smile crept upon her lips. “Simple. We do what we were already intending to do but on an even greater scale. We’re going to drench this city in despair.”

***

Once in their tavern’s room, Jessica, the team’s priest, set up a magical barrier to prevent sound from escaping.

“So, how’d it go with Louis?” Phillip, the vanguard with blonde hair, asked.

“No good,” Roland, the team’s leader, said. “No matter how many times I asked him, he refused to tell me how much he’d got for the Hierophant. What about you, Cain?”

Cain, the bowman, sighed. “Steve wouldn’t tell me either, even when I promised not to tell anyone. He just kept saying ‘More than enough’ and that was it. It was strange, it almost felt like he wasn’t all really there.”

“What do you mean?” Jessica asked.

“You know how people act when they’re incredibly drunk or on something? It was like Steve was and wasn’t there. He talked like him, but didn’t act like him. He seemed too…happy.”

Roland narrowed his eyes. “That’s exactly what I thought about Louis.”

“What?”

“I ended up finding him in a brothel with a girl on either arm, but he still felt like he was too happy.”

“A man’s whose happy about having two beautiful women wanting to sleep with him? Who’d have thought?” Lucy, the swordswoman, joked.

“If he was that happy, why wasn’t he doing anything with them other than hugging and drinking with them? You’ve all heard the stories about what he’s like when he visits a brothel, right?” Everyone nodded uncomfortably. “He should’ve been on those two girls like there was-”

Lucy punched Roland on the top of his head. “There are women present, Roland.”

“Regardless,” Roland continued, ignoring the throbbing pain. “He wasn’t acting exactly like he used to.”

“From the way you’ve described him, it’s almost like he’s in a trance of some kind,” Phillip said. “Do you think he’s under the influence of something?”

“The prostitutes might have slipped Louis something,” Cain said. “But that doesn’t explain why Steve was acting like that.”

“Is it possible that both of them are under the influence of some sort of spell?” Jessica wondered.

“Are there mind-altering spells that can last for that long?”

Jessica shook her head. “Most only last for a few minutes and the longest they can ever last is about an hour. If Olivia and Curtis bought the Hierophant when they said they did, that would mean Steven and Louis couldn’t still be under the influence of a spell.”

“Only a demon could do such a thing,” Lucy said.

“Right,” Roland agreed. “You remember what I said after she left our table, right? That she managed to hear my hushed voice in a crowded tavern? Demons have much, much sharper senses than humans.”

“Demons have been extinct in Aangapea for more than a thousand years,” Jessica argued.

“Conjurers summon demons from other dimensions all the time.”

“Maybe if it was a succubus,” Jessica whispered. “If a conjurer summoned a succubus or incubus, then they would be able to control the opposite sex as much as they wanted. Given that Steve and Louis seem to be under the influence, then-”

“Olivia is the demon and Curtis is the summoner? Surely we would’ve noticed.”

“Not if she’s a high-ranking demon. All demons are said to give off an eerie presence or aura, but she didn’t. If she was a high-ranking succubus, then it’d be possible for her to hide the fact that she’s a demon.”

“And a high-ranking mage would easily be able to reign in their magical power to disguise themselves as a normal human being,” Phillip added. “It fits.”

“Do remember though that this is purely speculation, everyone,” Cain reminded them. “We have no way of proving or knowing that what we’re thinking is even true.”

“Then, should we investigate this?” Roland asked.

“Isn’t that risky?” Jessica asked back.

“It is, but there must be a reason that a powerful mage and demon suddenly wanted to take over the Hierophant. If that’s the case, then they must have tricked Louis and Steve into giving up the Hiero for cheap so that they could use it for some purpose. If that purpose is to put Stonefall in harm’s way, then we must stop them.”

“Seconded,” Lucy said.

“Well, it’s not like we have any other jobs lined up right now,” Phillip added. “Jes? Cain?”

“It’s already a majority, but why not?” Cain replied.

Jessica smiled uncomfortably and nodded. “Very well then. Let us-”

“Damn. Such a shame.”

A dagger pierced Jessica’s back, stabbing all the way through her body and poking out of her ribcage.

At first, the others were too shocked to process what happened, until Jessica vomited blood and collapsed face down onto the floor.

“Jessica!”

The adventurers tried to draw their weapons, but eight daggers flew at them, impaling their palms and nailing them to the wall.

Only Roland had been fast enough to dodge the daggers, but the blades chased his back and stabbed into his shoulders.

With a howl of pain, he fell onto his knees.

“Roland!” Lucy cried through gritted teeth. “Who are you?!”

A man and a woman stood in front of their door; the man was dressed in a manner befitting an assassin, whereas the woman was draped in scantily clad armour.

“Wow. Imagine gossiping rudely about people behind their back and not even knowing what they look like. A pleasure to meet you again, dear customers. My name’s Mania and this is my friend Mímir, and!” She stuck her finger towards them viciously. “He’s not my husband! No way in hell!”

The rogue-like man sighed then, with the flick of his left hand, the daggers in Roland and Jessica’s backs dragged them into the air, leaving them hanging like a chandelier.

“You…bastards…” Roland hissed.

“Mímir, I think you upset them.”

“Someone, help us!” Lucy screamed.

Mania giggled. “Sorry, but no one outside of this room is going to hear a thing until we’ve left. You know that little barrier that you put up around the room? We put up a stronger one around that, so, no matter what happens next, no one will hear your screams.”

“Regardless, we have no intention of killing you providing you give us the information we want,” Mímir said.

“Who the hell would help you-?” Phillip started to yell.

A second later, blood spouted from his neck but, in the next moment, the wound was burnt closed.

Phillip’s agonising cries didn’t make a sound.

Horrified, all eyes turned to Mania and Cain screamed himself when he saw what she was holding, blood still dripping from the freshly removed muscles.

“Ah, I’ve waited all day to do that to him.” Mania dropped Phillip’s vocal cords. “In case it isn’t obvious, we might not have any intention of killing you, but.” She giggled and flashed them her razor-sharp fingernails dripping with fresh blood. “Everything else is on the table.”

“You bastards!”

“Heal him right now or else-!”

With a loud crack, Mania’s whip cut through the air, slicing Lucy and Cain’s chests, destroying their armour. Lucy screamed as the skin was torn from her flesh; Cain, however, bit down hard on his lip, denying Mania the reaction she wanted.

Calm down; don’t let your emotions cloud your judgement, Roland thought.

It was clear that they were at their captors’ mercy and even the tiniest amount of resistance could result in dire consequences.

More importantly, Roland’s eyes turned to the unconscious Jessica hanging across from him. Jessica, honey, I promise, I’ll get this over with quickly and get you healed up.

“Now, with that done, shall we start our interrogation?” When no one answered, Mania giggled. “Splendid. Mímir, if you would.”

Mímir shook his head a little and tugged on the strings tied to his daggers to remind their captives of their position.

“Firstly, tell us everything you know about the Night’s Eye. Then, tell us everything you know about the Sons of Tartarus and then everything about the state of the Holy Empire’s military power in Stonefall. For every time you fail to provide us answers that we deem sufficient, I will remove a limb from one of the people I am not interrogating.

“Roland, was it? Tell us about the Night’s Eye.”

“…You promise…that you’ll let us live?”

“I do.”

If that’s the case, then there’s nothing wrong with telling these guys about other scum like them. They’ll probably wipe our memories or something using that woman’s succubus powers and then fix Phillip’s throat, otherwise we’d just come after them again.

“Then, I’ll tell you everything. Just, please, let Jessica down. She’s wounded and-”

“Fear not. We have brought health potions with us. However, we won’t use them until-”

“Okay, I’ll talk quickly then! The Night’s Eye’s basically a small group of elite assassins and spies that do jobs for nobles and other big spenders in the empire, but most of their operations take place in the capital itself. I’ve heard that even the emperor has used them before, which is why no one touches them. Some think he’s going to send them to kill the Kelsey’s, but those are just rumours I’ve heard.”

Roland wasn’t sure why, but his last statement worried Mania; Mímir, however, was indifferent.

“As for the Sons of Tartarus, the guards think that there’s a few hundred members in total, but the adventurer’s guild thinks there may be a thousand of them in Stonefall alone. I think they might have people inside the adventurer’s and merchant’s guilds, and probably the guards as well.”

“How large is the Holy Empire’s army in Stonefall?”

“I don’t know the exact number, but a few thousand are here at all times. They send out a few hundred a day on patrols or on missions to the north every other week. Some have said that the emperor intends to invade the north, but he’s dismissed those rumours.”

“If those claims are true, then that means scores of the Holy Legion could come here at a moment’s notice. How long have these speculations gone on for?”

“A year or two. All I know for certain is that I’ve seen more soldiers out on hunts and patrols these last few months.”

“Is that truly everything that you know, Roland?”

“I swear on the name of the Great Goddess Themis that everything I have told you is the truth.”

Mímir stared Roland down for a few moments, before he nodded, satisfied. “Then, I am finished here.”

“Wait! Let us go! You swore that you would.”

“If you recall, I only ever said that I would let you live. Mania, however.”

Mania giggled. “I can do whatever I want, right?”

“You may.”

“Then, Mímir, might I propose to you something quite exciting that makes use of our new friends here?”

“Oh? Is it something of value to his majesty?”

“It’s invaluable. Though, I would need your help with one thing.”

“Which is?”

Mania giggled and licked her lips. “Could you go and find four homeless people and bring them here for me?”

***

The next morning, a barmaid found five dead bodies inside Roland’s room.

They had been horrifically mutilated and blood was splattered across the room.

The only body that was recognisable was Phillip’s who was nailed to the wall with knives in his hands and feet.

The barmaid’s screams were so loud that she woke the entire inn.

Ten minutes later, the guards arrived to investigate and, not an hour after that, rumours had already spread throughout the Merchant District about the murders.

By the end of the day, the entire city had heard what happened and the ominous words that had been written on the walls in blood.

‘Death Stalks All.’

***

“People of Stonefall! Hear me, for I bring dark tidings for you this day!” The archbishop bellowed at the start of his morning sermon. “I am sure that many of you must have heard about the terrible murders that happened yesterday at the Harp String Inn, and the cruel words written in the victims’ blood.”

The crowd mumbled to one another, some shook with fear and others cried in horror.

“People of the Holy Empire, I speak to you today not just as your archbishop, but as one who was granted in their sleep a terrible vision of the future by Themis herself!”

The crowd, whilst awed, became silent.

“During my sleep, I was visited by the Great Goddess and she showed me a terrible nightmare; a horrific vision of the future. These last two mass murders are just the beginning of a great doom that will befall this nation! A darkness is gathering strength in the south, waiting for its moment to strike and bring suffering to our people.

“However!” The archbishop slammed his palms on the altar before him. “This is a trial presented to the Holy Empire by our founder herself! Fear not, people, for our Goddess wishes for us to suffer so that she may test us. Do not panic or fear when I say that there is much pain to stalk us in the coming days. Instead, remain calm and know that no matter what befalls our Empire or the city of Stonefall, it will all be by Themis’s will!”

Despite the power of his voice, his words didn’t soothe the people’s fears, just as Mania wanted.

***

“Did you hear?”

“About the murders? Yeah, everyone has.”

“No, I mean who’s behind them.”

“Wait, they figured it out?”

“From what I’ve heard down at the guild, the Sons of Tartarus were attacked by some group called the Night’s Eye. Then, the Sons of Tartarus killed adventurers with a connection to the Night’s Eye in retaliation.”

“No way!”

“Is Stonefall about to be in the middle of a war between criminal gangs?”

“I hope not.”

“Still, I don’t buy it.”

“Why not?”

“You heard what the archbishop said. Something far more evil is behind this and it’s not going to end with just this.”

***

On the roof of the Cathedral, under an illusion of invisibility courtesy of Mímir, Mania and Mímir watched the crowds below, listening in to their every word.

“It would seem that you might not be completely useless to this operation after all,” Mímir said with a rare smile.

“I told you so.” Mania licked her lips. “Within a few hours, Stonefall has become stricken by fear and everyone’s trying to figure out what’s happening. Tartarus will panic, the Night’s Eye will panic, the adventurers, guards and army will panic, and we will see just how much chaos their fear will cause.

“If we keep this up, in a few months, Stonefall will be all but ripe for pandemonium like no other.”

***

“Herakles, have you read this report?”

“…Yeah. It’s a load of bull.”

“I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks that. Hah. Like the Night’s Eye could touch us. No, there’s someone else behind this.”

“Any ideas who, boss?”

“Not yet, but it seems that whoever killed Ryan and his men wants to hide themselves within this web of lies.”

“Do you need me to handle it?”

“Not if we can help it. You’re Tartarus’s greatest weapon and we can’t risk having you discovered.”

“Having you say that is quite the honour, boss.”

“For now, I’ll keep having our men investigate this. Until then, tell the captains to increase the number of guards on all our operations for now. If we’re to survive this, the Sons of Tartarus cannot appear to be weak.”

“Will do. What if the Night’s Eye does start moving though?”

“Then you or I can deal with them ourselves once and for…Oh? You seem to have an awful smile on your face, Herakles.”

“What can I say? It’s been a while since someone stood up to us like this. I just can’t wait to meet the leader of this play.”