Punishment

The light coming through the window stings my eyes, even when they’re closed. I shift, groaning slightly as I blink, my vision adjusting to the dim morning glow.

Wooden floors. Stone walls. An inn room.

…What?

Why am I here?

My thoughts are sluggish, my body heavy with exhaustion. The lingering haze in my mind makes it hard to piece things together at first, but then—

I move slightly and end up kicking something on the floor, my eyes following the object. A mask.

Oh.

So that was real.

For a moment I thought that the whole Ozymandias thing was in my head, but now the memories of everything that happened are clear in my mind.

The ship. The noble. The slavers. The bodies.

After the massacre, I returned to Torak’s bar and received my payment. The girl’s father had been right—his daughter was moments away from being sold into slavery. The man had sold everything he had to gather the five-thousand-gold reward, desperate to hire a mercenary. But no one had dared go against the criminals in this city.

No one but me.

With that money, I found the best inn in the region and paid for a room—two gold pieces per day. A fair deal. The room has a private bath, warm meals, and most importantly, a locked door between me and the outside world.

I had been too paranoid to sleep properly, so I sat on the floor against the wall, thinking, waiting, listening in case I was ambushed, I think I ended up passing out from sleep right here...

My gaze falls on my open hands, they're clean but deep down I know they're stained with blood. I don't know if it was the adrenaline, but the moment I took the lives of those thugs I felt nothing but anger. But now I feel strange, I, with my own hands, ended the existence of two people. No, not two... All those dead guards... the Undead Guard too...

All that blood is stained on my hands, I didn't know the names of any of them... But their families do. What if one of those men was actually a family man? What if I actually condemned an innocent child and wife to live alone?

I hold the mask tightly, staring at its golden details in the dark material, and the jewel between its eyes, like an all-seeing eye.

“There's no use regretting it...” I mutter unconsciously, as if hoping that the mask understands me.

This whole circumstance created Ozymandias, that old poem about the fall of a monarch is the origin of the name. Maybe this identity that was created for my own survival can change this world for the better?

Maybe if people see that there is someone out there who masks himself and fights against the powerful, they can be inspired and find the strength within themselves to fight against an oppressive system.

For now I must equip myself and prepare for other, worse battles, if I want to survive in Cradena I must be strong.

***

I prepared myself by separating the large amount of gold pieces I had into smaller portions, so that I could carry the money more safely.

No matter how strong I pretend to be, I’m not invincible. Walking around Cradena with a full bag of gold might as well be a death sentence.

Even though my body still ached from yesterday’s events, I forced myself to use a simple earth spell—Terraforma. It wasn’t anything flashy, just a basic spell that allowed small-scale manipulation of dirt, stone, and similar materials.

With a wave of my hand, the wall of my inn room shifted slightly, a small hollow space forming within the stone. I stashed most of my gold inside before sealing it back up. The surface smoothed out, leaving no trace of its presence.

Taking my mask and putting it on my face, I feel the familiar, cold sensation of becoming Ozymandias again.

Locking the door behind me, I stepped out onto the streets of Cradena.

The air was thick with the usual smells—salt, alcohol, and the distant stench of unwashed bodies. The sky above remained its usual overcast gray, casting a dreary light over the city.

Now what I need is new equipment and clothes, luckily for me Cradena has all sorts of stores that supply items for assassins and bounty hunters.

I visited a few stores and did some shopping: First I went shopping for clothes, but I couldn't find anything that suited me. Apparently there is no equipment or armor for children

Tch. Figures.

The closest thing I found was dwarf equipment, but it was too big to fit my skinny body. So I decided to just buy a black cloak with a fur-lined hood, which will be useful for creating Ozymandias' visual identity.

For my next stop I looked for stores selling weapons, there were all kinds of weapons there, swords, bows, spears... But of course I focused on buying something that would suit me.

I spent a long time checking every option before finally settling on two. The most expensive ones in the shop.

The first being the Infernal Fang, a dagger made of obsidian and covered in dragon's blood, it has fiery properties and causes a burning sensation when it cuts someone.

The other is the Frost Fang, a dagger made from the frozen fang of a Frostwyrm, a legendary ice dragon who lives in high mountains of ice. Thanks to its icy properties, it leaves frostbite where it cuts, slowing enemies.

Both daggers cause a burning sensation, one burning like fire and the other like ice. I think this works well for Ozymandias because it's like the old saying, he who plays with fire gets burned.

I also picked up a set of fine needles in an alchemy shop. Not for medical use, of course. Poison would be a better application. I remembered what Valtheria taught me about certain fruits and plants in the forest, some could paralyze, others could kill. If I could extract those toxins, these needles would become another weapon in my arsenal.

I spent quite a bit of gold, but the investment was worth it.

By the time I finished my shopping, my stomach was twisting in hunger.

The morning had slipped away, and the streets of Cradena were alive with activity.

I decided to head to Torak’s bar. The old dwarf might be an ass, but he made a decent meal.

I took a shortcut through one of the narrow alleys, my thoughts already drifting toward what I’d order. Something warm, maybe a–

Pain exploded behind my eyes. Suddenly a shock spreads through my skull.

What the fuck?

My body collapsed to the cold, damp ground and my consciousness fades to black.

***

My consciousness slowly returns to its normal state as I wake up from a deep sleep, voices bringing me back to reality.

“Wake him up, Louise.” A harsh voice commands.

“From the heavens' grace and earth's embrace, let pure waters flow, Aquapura.”

With the familiar incantation a torrent of water falls over my face forcing me awake, I open my eyes confusedly looking around me. A dark place, apparently made of rough stone. Only a small chandelier illuminates the place casting shadows on the wall. As soon as my vision returns to normal I see in front of me a a girl with blue hair tied into a high ponytail, she’s wearing a wizard’s cloak, and in her hand—a staff. Polished black wood, with an octagonal blue crystal floating at the top, glowing faintly in the dim room.

“You can go now, I want to be alone with our guest here.”

The man's voice echoes firmly like an absolute command, the girl steps aside and exits through the wooden door behind her leaving me alone in this room with the man in front of me..

The man sits in a wooden chair across from me, legs spread apart like he owns the world. He’s huge. Thick, muscular build. Long black hair, wavy and untamed, draping over his shoulders. A massive black beard. An open white cotton vest exposing his scarred chest. black linen pants. Boots that have seen decades of travel.

Still confused, I try to move but notice that I'm sitting on a wooden chair with chains holding my wrists behind my back. Even getting up with my legs was difficult as they were also chained.

“There's no point in struggling, kid, you're the fish that fell into my net.” The man said, his piercing blue eyes staring into mine as if he were observing beyond the mask on my face.

He continues. “You gave me a hard time, hm? What's your motivation in screwing with my slave business?”

Business? Slaves?

He must have something to do with that mission I did yesterday. “The crew that enslaved innocent children, you mean?” I reply in a mocking tone.

“Hahaha, you really are a comedy, kid.” He lets out a hearty laugh. “You really have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, do you?”

He gets up and walks over to a table in the corner of the dark room, the equipment I had bought is there.

“Daggers and needles huh? Is that what you spent the money you made killing my crew on?” He runs his finger along the blades of the daggers that look like toothpicks next to his hand. “You turned my little brother's life into money to buy these?”

“Little brother? Wait, there must be some mistake here. I didn't kill anyone's little brother.” I say confused, thinking I've been mistaken for someone else.

“I'm pretty sure it was you, Ozymandias...” He turns around and stops in front of me. “When you raided that ship, you killed the pirate who was there... Do you even know who he was?” He says, his thick voice reverberating as if it carried an imminent death.

“N-no...” I mutter quietly.

“Garrick Dreadmoor.” He replies. “You killed the pirate who was my right-hand man and my blood brother... You thought you could just kill my brother and walk away?” He waits for an answer.

I don't answer though, staying quiet and swallowing the saliva in my dry throat.

“Lestor!” The man shouted, the wooden door opened again and now a man in a black tunic and black hood entered the dark room. “Make him remember the name Edward Dreadmoor before he dies.” With that, he leaves the room.

The man called Lestor seemed to be dressed like an executioner, he seemed excited by something almost bouncing on his foot. “I'm finally going to have some fun after all this time... Aahh, I'm so happy...”

He heads over to the side table where my equipment is spread out. “Hmmm... Let's see... Daggers that cause burns huh? They look like they'd be great for torture.” He gives a bizarre laugh.

Torture? Is that what these guys have for me?

I don't know what to expect from this... The only thing I'm sure of is that I need to find a way out of here.