The Masked Advesary

The crow-masked people had tied up the armed men, and the naked women had been given something to wear. Two masked individuals had forced Lord Oash to the knees and restrained him by holding his arms and shoulders. Valeria was hovering over him.

“Now listen carefully, piece of shit, because I don’t like to repeat myself,” she said in a cold tone. “I will ask you now a couple of questions and you will answer them truthfully. If you tell even a single lie, and trust me I will know, I will hand you over to my lovely friend here.”

Valeria pointed at Sophia.

“She is not only like you already pointed out so eloquently a very beautiful young woman, but also… and I will use words that even a dimwitted pea brain like you can understand… a specialist in breaking people… and trust me, there is a lot that can be broken in a human being…” she added. “Do you understand?”

Lord Oash nodded slightly.

“Good. Then let’s begin. Who are you?” Valeria began the questioning.

“My name is Otto Oash, Lord over the northern province of Schuldig,” Lord Oash answered.

“Good. What is your connection to the cases of kidnapping in the area?”

“I made a deal with local bandit groups and gangs to look the other way to their activities in exchange for them bringing kidnapped people as tribute.”

“Not only women?”

“No.”

“Where are you holding them?”

“In the dungeon beneath the house.”

Valeria nodded at one of the crow-masked individuals next to them. They immediately rushed outside.

“For what purpose did you kidnap those people?” Valeria focused back on the questioning.

“For sexual pleasure at first… then I started selling them to other nobles in the neighboring provinces as slaves…” Lord Oash explained.

“Who is this Sir Liam that you mistook our friend for?”

“A few years ago, he came and blackmailed me that he would expose my crimes if I didn’t agree to his deal.”

“Was he working alone?”

“He said he works for someone in the Inquisition.”

“What was this deal?”

“To send him women on a regular basis.”

“Only women?”

“Yes… women that fulfilled certain criteria.”

“What criteria?”

“At first, it was just women. Then women that were still virgins. Then ones that weren’t any more but had not given birth yet. Then woman that had given birth and now only those that never had a miscarriage and had birthed a healthy child with no complications, if possible, someone with magical abilities.”

“For what purpose?”

“I don’t know. I never asked. He paid well and promised to keep the Inquisition and the crown off our back, so I did not care. Probably for the same reason the other nobles bought them as well…”

“Did he ever tell you who in the Inquisition he works for?”

Sophia suddenly felt a strange chill run down her spine and then magical energy surging. It was a very familiar sensation, like when one of Kieran’s inscriptions activated. She turned towards the direction she felt that energy coming from and stared directly at one of the crow-masked individuals in standing in the room. She noticed them having a longsword in hand, taking a step to the side. The individual vanished as if stepping through an invisible portal.

“Not directly, but he told me that—” Lord Oash began his sentence but was cut short by a sudden case of decapitation.

Sophia reacted instinctively, grabbed Valeria, pulled her back and let a sphere of air expand rapidly in front of her. This saved hers and the princess’s lives, because the masked individual with the longsword that suddenly appeared behind Lord Oash had, in the short time that it took her to cast the spell, already cut down the two other crow-masked ones next to the now headless Lord. Sophia, Valeria and the sudden adversary got caught in the spontaneous air expansion and thrown backwards. Valeria screamed as the two women landed a few meters back on the floor. The masked adversary did get thrown back as well, but he flipped his body mid air and landed on the feet. Sophia then watched him start immediate mayhem in the room. The masked adversary cut down everyone in his with relentless force and unbelievable speed. Most of the crow-masked individuals didn’t even have time to put up their weapons and those that did died regardless. Even the bound and restrained men were cut down without hesitation until everyone in the room, except the masked adversary, Valeria and Sophia were dead. After his last victim he turned towards the women and advanced towards them. Sophia cast a quick spell and flung an orb of fire against him. The masked adversary simply dodged to the side. Sophia changed the spell mid flight and detonated the orb. The explosion pushed her and Valeria back on the ground and the masked adversary got flung to the side. He collided with a window and got defenestrated by the force of the blast. Sophia quickly sprung to her feet and ran to the hole in the wall. She looked down and saw the adversary standing and looking up. He had lost his mask because of the blast or the fall. Sophia gasped shocked. The man standing down there, staring back at her, looked exactly like a slightly younger version of Kieran but with deep blue eyes. Sophia could feel the familiar sensation as if one of Kieran’s inscriptions got activated, again. Someone came running around the corner of the house. It was the real Kieran with his sword in hand. The man that looked nearly exactly like him turned and smiled. Then he just stepped to the side and vanished like through an invisible portal. Sophia looked at Kieran standing down there and he stared back. She saw the confusion in his grey-purplish eyes.

“Did you get that bastard?” Valeria yelled from inside the room.

“No… he got away…” Sophia said and turned back around.

“Fuck…”

Valeria was holding the side of her chest.

“Did you get hurt?” Sophia asked alarmed.

“No… my rib just hurts a bit,” Valeria said and waved dismissively.

“Let me see.”

Sophia went up to her and pulled up her shirt.

“Woah! Slow there my dear… at least treat me to dinner first,” Valeria jested.

“Tell me when it hurts.” Sophia instructed and began putting gentle pressure on her ribs one by one.

“Ahh… right there… that one.”

Sophia gently examined the indicated rib a bit further.

“Hm, doesn’t seem to be broken. Probably just bruised,” Sophia concluded.

“Yeah, that’s probably it… As everybody seems eager to point out lately, I lack appropriate padding in that specific area… so that can happen,” Valeria joked.

Sophia looked down and then back up again.

“Your padding is absolutely fine the way it is, and it looks gorgeous,” Sophia reassured her.

Both looked at each other for a moment and then began to laugh. Someone opened the door and rushed inside.

“What happ—” Bastian yelled and noticed Valeria standing there with her shirt up.” What in all blazes… Why are you half naked?”

He turned around immediately and his ears turned slightly red.

“To check my paddings,” Valeria responded innocently.

“Your what?” Bastian asked confused.

“I fell.”

“Are you hurt.”

“Only a bruised rib, thanks to inadequate padding.”

“Ah, good…”

“Good?”

Bastian ignored her and looked around the room, meticulously not in Valeria’s direction though.

“What the hell happened here?” he asked after seeing the bloodbath.

“One of the Crows turned rogue,” Valeria explained and then turned towards Sophia. “Who was that?”

“I have no clue…” she answered.

“One person did all that?” Bastian asked.

“Yes… you should have seen it… He moved so fast that most of the Crows couldn’t even raise their weapons in time… If it weren’t for Sophia’s quick reaction, I would have been a goner as well,” Valeria told him.

Bastian turned around and looked at Sophia.

“Then you have my utmost thanks, Lady Sophia,” he said and lowered his head.

“I did what I could…” Sophia replied.

Bastian glanced over to Valeria and quickly turned around again.

“Why are you still holding your shirt up, girl?” he asked flustered.

“Girl? I’m a fully grown woman!” Valeria protested.

“I noticed…”

“Oh?”

Valeria began to grin.

“If you noticed, then what do you think of them?” she asked sheepishly.

“I would prefer them under your shirt…” Bastian said quietly.

“Not until you tell me your honest opinion! I want a man’s opinion on this matter, right now!”

“They… look good… very womanly… happy now?”

“Jep, thank you.”

“Is the shirt back on?”

“Yeah… the puppies are back in cover.”

“What puppies?” Kieran suddenly asked, appearing in the door.

“Nothing to worry about!” Bastian said immediately.

Kieran quickly scanned the room.

“What happened here?” he asked.

Sophia recounted what had happened, but she omitted the fact that she had seen the adversary without the mask.

“What the situation outside of this room?” Valeria asked after she was done.

“Most of the Lord’s man are now either dead or restrained and the kidnapped people are being freed by some of those craw dudes right now,” Kieran informed them.

“Good then let’s go and wrap things up here,” Valeria decided.