"You"d like to speak about what?" Karlson choked, bringing up such a sensitive subject out of the blue was reckless, to say the least. "You heard me the first time, I said I"d like to discuss G.o.d"s ale," Staxius sipped in turn. "You must be crazy," he continued to deny – giving away information would be the last thing the trafficker did. "I"m not that insensitive to ask for information, I"m sure the overseers are keeping you on a tight leash," the gla.s.s emptied. "Why not cut a deal, I"d like to buy some, price isn"t an issue though I"d appreciate some kind of discount," the voice serious and unfaltering, Karlson could not but give.
"That I can do, the package will be delivered at the shop to our discretion. I hope this solves all your quandaries," the tone defiant, Staxius"s presence now annoyed the man. "No, we"re not done just yet," he sighed, "I"d like to take a look at the demi-humans you have. I"m sure that Arda becoming its own kingdom and the dark guild keeping the demi"s here might come across as a problem. That is if the stay in nonconsensual – otherwise it"s fine. Though this boring talk won"t bring anything good, do show me the way," he stood.
"I"ve got more business to attend too, there"s someone already waiting to give the tour. Do keep the bloodshed to a minimum – replacements are hard to come by, especially when everyone is neck-deep into this whole adventuring thing," the tone now casual, Staxius left without further bothering Karlson. "Stupid brat," he thought, "-it"s impressive how that boy could stop all the bullets at once." A cigar got lit, "might come in useful later. Need to see what the guy is like first, the lords aren"t going to be happy about this little incident."
"So, this is where all the girls are displayed," Staxius spoke, the guide stopped and nodded. A gla.s.s pane with girls from every possible region in Hidros, it ranged from elder to youngsters. "There"s just about everything a person could want," he continued to think out loud, the guard stood by and listened. "They all act so weirdly, the body motions are almost too fluid, the eyes look dead inside."
"I"ll take the one in the far right," he pointed at a relatively small girl – someone aged seventeen if guessed properly. The reason was that she had elven ears and looked more alive than the others. "As you wish," the guard took things in hand and organized a room in which Staxius now sat and waited patiently. "How mad would Xula be if she knew I was in a place like this," he relished the thought.
*Click,* the door opened. Without a word uttered, the girl crawled into bed and began to undress. "Wait for a second," Staxius stopped her hands from going any further, "isn"t that job supposed to be the guy"s privilege?" he sat and stared with the eyes blank. "S-sorry," unknowingly she got dressed again. "Stop a minute," he interrupted her again, "…" her face looked scared and confused. "I didn"t tell you to get dressed either," he sounded so bored it made the girl even more nervous. "No need to be anxious, I care not about you nor your body. I"m after one thing only, and that"s information," he straightened the posture and whispered, they both sat on the bed. "W-what?" she asked, her face now baffled and body covered by the blanket.
Silently, Staxius placed the index finger on his mouth and told her to shush. "I expected as much," the eyes closed. The outline of people was seen through the wall; spies. "In total, I can see and feel about three, their aura is not familiar nor impressive. Probably some people sent by Karlson, I did come across as someone suspicious back there."
*Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, from when you were born and till you die, I, the G.o.d of death, hold in my hands the strings which binds you to this world, by my authority, I order thy chains to be severed, spell, Tactus Interitus.* Three-snap sufficed. The outline vanished; the unwelcome guest died. "Right," he stood, "-let"s get to business. What I want is information, anything is essential. You were given a sip of G.o.d"s ale; the symptoms haven"t taken effect just yet. I"m to guess you"re new around here?" the tone friendly and welcoming, the frightened girl gathered courage.
"I-I was abducted by s-some people I thought were my friends. One day, whilst a visit to the capital, I came across a building that said they were an emba.s.sy for Arda. A place where all demi"s who were sadly outside the border when the independence was made public could meet. At that moment, I shuddered, not seeing my family again, just the thought made me want to run away. At first, they were friendly but when the time came for me to depart, they lured me into some strange building. Memories from back then and now is fuzzy at best, I don"t remember anything – my body aches all the time. I think I may be pregnant too, but there"s no way to know," tear ran down her cheeks, "- I-I just want to go back h-home," her cries intensified.
"First of all, you better shut up," he said so in fear of being discovered. "Making promises isn"t something I do. Fake hope is the worst thing a person can have. However, I can"t just take you and only you out. It will be unjust to leave others to suffer. Honestly, I"m powerless in the sense that there are more people in similar situations out there. Evil is never going to stop as long as there"s good. It"s a perfect balance," he paused, the look on her face spoke volumes.
"Are you just going to abandon me and leave?" the eyes looked like a puppy. "Probably yes," he fired back frank and without remorse. "My name is Staxius Haggard, what"s yours?"
"Klaern Aebalar," the word painfully rolled out her mouth. "Aebalar…" memories got triggered, "Is Aebalar your family name?" the voice changed to serious. "Y-yes," in fear, her eyes shut. "This may be a personal question, but is Faraine Aebalar your mother by any chance?" deep down, Staxius wanted this to not be true.
"H-how d-do you k-know my mother," her eyes opened, the persona changed immediately. "H-how is s-she doing?" a plethora of questions were asked. Most of which, fell on deaf ears. "This may come as a shock, but Faraine Aebalar has left the realm of the living long ago. I personally dealt the last strike," to which he recounted when and how the mother died.
"I-I"ve lost e-everything," she broke down, the dream of going back home to a loving family shattered. "I apologize," the tone didn"t seem genuine. His eyes told a different story, it glimmered. Upon a glance at it, she didn"t hold a grudge. "There isn"t a need to worry. I care not anymore, there"s no point in rescue," the voice gave up, the fate as a slave settled-in. "d.a.m.n it, this is why I hate this," with a sigh, Staxius stood.
"Listen up, this isn"t pity nor is it compa.s.sion. I made a promise to personally meet and apologize to Yaegar Aebalar. It didn"t come to pa.s.s for many things that came up along the way. I took that boy"s mother"s life. The least I can do is return him someone close, a big sister who can raise him into a respectable man." The look in her eye changed, the thought of having a little brother was foreign – the memory didn"t kick in until he said the name.
A way to reduce the feeling of not being raised by a mother. Staxius found a way to lessen said pain, pain all too familiar to little Staxius. This task overshadowed everything; the decision was made. At any cost, that girl was to be sent back to Arda and to her brother, a task he was to accomplish alone. Luckily, Void was parked next to the shop.
"Miss Aebalar, better get dressed," the long sleeve rolled, the eyes turned from blank to deadly in seconds. Nothing else needed to be said, her will crumbled – Staxius"s overpowered determination and personality sufficed.
With only a pair of shorts and a t-s.h.i.+rt, she followed. The door broke open, the guards remained still, it wasn"t of their business. "Jason," he yelled, the bar came in view. "I"m taking this one with me, I"m not going to buy her, fight me or let me go – up to you. But I"ll pay for the drinks," a gold coin flew across the room, Staxius headed for the door. "No worries, I don"t want more bodies to pile up, just make sure to bring more business later," Jason yelled, the voice courteous.
"Should we kill him?" one of the guards approached, "be my guest, this bar is a free place. People are allowed to do what they want," a casual smirk later, five of the guards opened fire. *Death Element: Absolute Barrier," he turned, the eyes seem to burn, Jason shrugged. *Snap,* the bullets were sent back. "More bodies again," the bartender sighed.
The door to the bathroom opened, Timothy waited on the other side. "Aye Staxius, how was it?" he asked. "Fun," he replied in jest. The others were still pa.s.sed out drunk, "this way," he led her outside and into the car. "Where are we going?" the state of confusion broke, "we"re headed home. Back to Arda, better sleep, there"s about two to three days" worth of driving to do. It roared, the mode set for overdrive and gone.
The day came by earlier than expected, the trio awoke to a vomit infested tavern. It reeked of alcohol and sweat, "what a night," Achilles mumbled. "I agree," Undrar stretched. "Where"s Master?" Avon asked to which the dragon held the answer. Through telepathy, the reason for the sudden absence was explained.
"Undrar, you"re in charge," she was proclaimed as the secondary leader. To that, her first task was to get everyone in working order – bathing, a good breakfast. The hangover went by quickly since Kniq took half the day off – then headed back to adventuring.
"Good afternoon, Viola," Diane spoke, the guild remained empty at that time. "Good afternoon," she replied. "Are you here for the quest?" she asked, the reply was a nod.
[Masked Murderer – Tier 2]
[Potential Dragon spotting – Tier X]
[Escort for Trading Routes – Tier 8]
[Dark Guilds – Tier 4]
[Hunt for Medicinal Herbs – Tier 10]
[Kill Quest: Hobgoblins – Tier 8]
[Kill Quest: Wolves – Tier 9]
"I"m afraid there"s nothing new this time around," she spoke in disappointment. "No worries, we"ll just do the kill quests," Undrar replied and left. Avon remained at the shop to wait for potential customers – potions were ready to be sold.
"Tell Avon to sell the potions for fifteen coppers per flask," is what Undrar told the spirit earlier in the day. "-and to not touch the scrolls even if the world came to an end," that part was also included.
The journey had now taken Staxius half way till Savaview bridge came in view. At this pace, the drive to the Dorchester"s ex- n.o.ble district would be a day at most. That was if no stops were made along the way. He had been driving since the previous night, the girl grew to be hungry.
Time went on, the party back in the capital continued to do quests. Avon got a few customers but none bought the potions. A kid who watched over the counter was seen as a joke. A package came by earlier, to which he gently stored away. The sun began to set, the car only just pa.s.sed the bridge. "I still can"t fathom the distance between each province." Another hour later, the lively town of Castle Garsley came in view.
"Let"s stop here for tonight, I"ve heard the people here are pretty friendly," He spoke in jest. It looked nothing from when the last visit was made. Keeping track of the date wasn"t something much fond of, each pa.s.sing day meant one became older. The gigantic wall rendered the member of the council speechless. "Can"t believe they did all that in just a few months. Given it"s probably been more than half a year, this is a work of unimaginable skill," the word came out without realizing, "this way of building and craftsmans.h.i.+p – definitely the work of dwarves."